mnkrc3v27

Volume 27, Chapter 3
Though Edward Clark faced some obstacles while working on Project Dione, it
continued to progress. The rate at which it progressed was accelerating, too: Clark no
longer worked on the project alone, and at the moment, a group of independent
scientists from the US National Science Agency were conducting simulations on the
delivery of ice masses from Jupiter to Venus. Once these simulations were completed,
the data would be used to create the necessary sequences of magic that take into
account all possible factors.
The research staff of the National Science Agency currently were giving
priority to providing water and lowering the temperature of Venus with a large
amount of ice blocks being placed on Venus, and they planned on dealing with the
problem of splitting up the atmosphere another time. Edward Clark did not object to
these policies.
He didn't care.
The terraforming of Venus was only a formal goal. The real goal of the Project
Dione was the expulsion of Shiba Tatsuya from Earth out of fear of his magic that
converted mass directly into energy. And from this point of view, Project Dione had
already failed.
The magical thermonuclear reactor power plant project, designed by Shiba
Tatsuya, was steadily moving towards its implementation. Being a key figure in this
project, Shiba Tatsuya had an excuse for not participating in the Dione Project.
The concept of such an installation is not new: first, build a large-scale power
plant. Using the electricity produced, extract hydrogen from ocean water while
extracting useful minerals purifying them from harmful substances. Using ordinary
technology, this plan was unprofitable, but the use of the Star Reactor - a
thermonuclear reactor using gravity control magic – makes it profitable. Edward Clark
couldn't find a way to deny this.
The need for the Project Dione, with the official purpose of preparing for a
shortage of living space as population increased, is still there, but it was now
impossible to insist that Shiba Tatsuya must join the project. The star reactor was not
necessary for the promotion of the Project Dione. Employees of the NSA calculated
that the power required to carry out the mission in Jupiter’s orbit can be generated by
solar energy. On the other hand, the Shiba Tatsuya plant project is based on the
construction of the Star Reactor. Star reactor plants can provide much more energy
than other types of power plants. Because of this, many senators already felt that Tatsuya’s “experiment” should not be hindered. If Edward Clark continued to insist
that Tatsuya must participate, the world could guess the true purpose of Project Dione.
Edward Clark knew that if world figured out the true purpose of Project Dione,
then it could never be achieved. There were always journalists trying to reveal the
truth, regardless of the consequences. There was also the possibility that conclusions
formed on the guesswork people who cannot be called full-fledged journalists would
reveal the truth. Still, even in the current situation, Edward Clark did not give up on
Project Dione. Searching for a clue that could turn the situation around, he was now
looking through the information collected Hliðskjálf.
He had not returned home for more than ten days, and he had not met with his
son in more than half a month. Because of this, Clark did not yet know that Raymond
had become a Parasite (though this was probably more negligence on his own part).
Clark had given his permission for Raymond to go to Japan through a text message,
but other than this, he did not know Raymond’s situation.
Clark once again entered into the sea of information contained in Hliðskjálf
today. Using the original terminal had its benefit, as well: unlike the terminals
scattered around the world, the original supercomputer could analyze and process data
in addition to accessing it. Using an AI helper, Clark was looking for a way to change
the situation, but could not find a suitable plan.
Finally, at about 15 o’clock, as he was beginning to succumb to fatigue, he was
distracted by a call.
“Dr. Clark, how are you?”
Igor Bezobrazov appeared on the display, whoe he had not been able to contact for a
long time.
“Dr. Bezobrazov, long time no see. Honestly, things are not going very well with me.”
“I see, but this is not my fault.”
Clark could barely restrain the urge to swear in response, but Bezobrazov did not
seem to care about this reaction.
“I failed - this is a fact, but the initial reason is that the project of the plant with the
Star Reactor could not be stopped by political means.” Bezobrazov opted not to take
blame for his failure to kill Tatsuya using his Strategic Class magic, “Tuman Bomba”
“In your position, doctor, it was inevitable.”
It was unnecessary to quarrel now. Still, Clark’s voice contained some barb to it that
he could not quite remove.
“I appreciate your understanding. In my position, I could not let Shiba Tatsuya go.”
Bezobrazov chose to ignore the barb in Clark’s voice, rather focusing on his intent as
he also realized the necessity of cooperation in their circumstances.
“But now the situation has become even worse!” Clark exclaimed.
However, Bezobrazov’s response, in which there as not even a hint of self-reflection,
caused an explosion of anger in Clark.
“Killing Shiba Tatsuya. Wonderful plan! Nothing can be done that he failed. Just the
enemy was stronger.”
Bezobrazov on the screen made a displeased face, but Clark had expected this.
“But thanks to your hostile actions, the peaceful nature of Project Dione is now in
doubt,” Clark continued.
“Was there any reason to pretend to be a peaceful project?” Bezobrazov asked.
“Huh?” Clark replied, confused.
Even after seeing the anger evident on Clark’s face, Bezobrazov kept his cynic tone.
“The purpose of Project Dione is the elimination of the Strategic Class Magician
Shiba Tatsuya. If this goal is achieved, the development of Venus will not matter.”
Clark had nothing he could object to in this statement. Bezobrazov had accurately
stated the purpose of Project Dione.
“Then, Doctor, do you have any ideas?”
Clark's question was from despair.
“I don’t know if you can call it much of an “idea”, but I do have a one-sentence
offer,” Bezobrazov responded.
Bezobrazov’s answer surprised Clark, as he did not expect Bezobrazov to have
anything specific.
“I'm listening to you.”
Even though Clark only asked this to gain time, he still desired to find a way out of
the current impasse.
“The current conflict was launched unilaterally by the Great Asian Alliance, but
tomorrow it is planned to end this war with the victory of our country.” Bezobrazov
stated this with confidence.
“Doctor, will you be using Tuman Bomba?” Clark asked.
“I am.”
The view that the war would be over by the singular use of Strategic Class Magic
seemed naïve at first glance. However, the Great Asian Alliance launched this war
under the assumption that of the absence of Bezobrazov. Clark understood that if
Tuman Bomba was used, the Great Asian Alliance would quickly end the war.
The Great Asian Alliance initially invaded the Primorsky Territory of the New Soviet
Union, and finding that there was not a counterattack with Tuman Bomba, continued
their attack. Because of this, if they were to receive a powerful blow by the
Bezobrazov’s Strategic Class Magic, their morale would be broken and the war would
be unable to be continued. Since the armies of the New Soviet Union and the Great
Asian Alliance were approximately equal, the loss of morale of the Great Asian
Alliance’s army would be fatal. Thus, the Great Asian Alliance would soon opt out of
the war and the victory of the New Soviet Union would be assured. At least, this was
the reasoning of Clark and Bezobrazov.
“After this victory, our country will go south into the Sea of Japan.”
“Are you planning an invasion of Japan!?” Clark exclaimed.
“Justification has not yet been invented, but don’t worry. We’re not going to land on
Honshu because it will not be an invasion operation aimed towards getting new
territories.”
“......”
Clark was amazed that Bezobrazov was seriously considering invading Japan.
“You seem to understand. True, it will be a deceptive maneuver. I assume you know
where the construction of the Star Reactor plant is taking place?” Bezobrazov
confirmed.
“On a volcanic island called "Miyaki Island", located 180 kilometers south of Tokyo.”
“Correct. This island is located on the opposite side of the Sea of Japan where our
army will move south.” Bezobrazov stated.
“That is, you suggest we sabotage the plant during your advance to the south?” Clark
asked.
“It is possible, isn’t it? If the plants become the target of terrorists, what do you think
the investors will think? They will have no choice but to cancel the construction of the
Star Reactor plant, and Shiba Tatsuya will lose the pretext for refusing to participate
in Project Dione.”
Clark could not give an immediate response to the proposal Bezobrazov. Under most
circumstances, this was a disastrous plan that should be immediately rejected. If it was
revealed that the USNA was behind the sabotage of the plant, their credibility would
fall below the baseboard, and the risk of being revealed was relatively high. It was
possible to hide the elimination of 1 or 2 people, but to hide the destruction of an
entire plant? But for Clark, suffering from a sense of hopelessness, Bezobrazov’s
proposal seemed like the only way to get out of the current impasse. Bezobrazov's
plan tempted Clark like the sweet whisper of the devil.
“…When is the navy of your country advancing?” Clark finally asked.
“If everything goes smoothly, then in five days - July 8th.”
“Five days....”
“I'll be in time,” Clark thought. Preparation time was not an impassable obstacle in
his mind.
“Okay. I understand,” Clark responded.
“I thought you would agree.”
Bezobrazov smiled contentedly.
On the other side of the call, Clark shivered at the coldness of the smile shown by the
doctor.
◊ ◊ ◊
July 4, 2097, Thursday. The seventh day of the war between the Great Asian Alliance
and the New Soviet Union.
Major events pertaining to the New Soviet Union’s position in the war
happened during the morning. To start, the army finished redeploying its forces to the
East to the Siberian region of the New Soviet Union, and the armored forces
responsible for defending the region south of Khabarovsk began to move south.
While this was happening, the naval forces of the Primorsky Territory,
previously holding the Great Asian Alliance’s army back in the vicinity of Ussuriysk,
began to retreat towards the Muravyov-Amursky peninsula.
In doing this, the New Soviet Union aimed to capture the invading army with
the help East Siberian District and Primorsky Territory forces. This gave the Great
Asian Alliance two options:
The first was to concentrate troops on the western coast of Lake Khanka in order to
strengthen control over that territory.
The second was to chase the Primorsky Territory’s forces retreating to the south and
capture Vladivostok before the arrival of the East Siberian District’s army. If they
successfully seized Vladivostok, they would no longer have to worry that their Naval
forces heading to the north might be attacked from the side. This would allow the
army of the Northeast region and the army of the Korean Autonomous Okrug to
occupy the west side of Lake Khanka (from the Great Asian Alliance’s perspective,
return to) Primorsky Krai.
The Great Asian Alliance chose the second option.
The Great Asian Alliance began pursuing the retreating army. However, the
time spent making this decision combined with the difference in the speed of military
equipment, so the distance between the armies continued to increase.
As the distance between the 2 countries’ armies exceeded 20 kilometers, a dramatic
turning point came in the war.
Suddenly, the fog surrounding the Great Asian Alliance grew thicker.
For a short period of time, the fog covered the military equipment and vehicles
carrying about 6,000 soldiers.
“Retreat!” shouted the commander, trusting his instincts that sensed danger.
“Remove the fog!”
The staff officer who ordered this knew the true nature of this white veil, and quickly
called out to the squad of magicians. But this officer’s quick realization, their reaction
was too late.
No, it would be more accurate to say that their opponent - Bezobrazov - was too fast.
The white darkness created by the thick fog was filled with magic sequences in
an instant, and there was a blast of explosive gas covering the super-wide region. It was a gas mixture made from splitting the molecular bonds of water - one part oxygen
and two parts hydrogen. The temperature of this mixture can reach 3000 degrees when
burned - quite close to the temperature at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion.
However, unlike nuclear bombs, which concentrate the emission of heat at a single
point, this explosion generated heat over an area of several hectares to several tens of
square kilometers. In addition to this, the initial form of this Mist-bomb attack (a form
in which attention is not even drawn to the enemy’s magic defense) differs from fuel￾spray bombs because it places all of the attack targets within the activation area inside
the explosion’s epicenter.
Rather than kill the enemy units directly with the heat produced by the
explosion, this attack sends high pressure shockwaves below the explosion,
annihilating everything in its path - and its maximum strike radius was comparable to
a multiple warhead nuclear missile.
July 4, 2097, 8:55 local time. Japanese time: 7:55.
One attack destroyed more than 70% of the invading forces of the Great Asian
Alliance.
◊ ◊ ◊
The study hours of every National High School of Magic – from First High to
Ninth High - were the same, with the first class starting at 8:00. Schools only differed
in the presence of a morning gathering/short class before the first lesson.
At First High, there were no morning meetings or class hours before school, so
students only arrived at the beginning first lesson. Third High, on the other hand, had
made a habit of holding morning meetings in which the teachers explained current
events to the students. However, these meetings were only available to the "special
courses", equivalent to the first course of First High to which instructor were assigned.
Though today was the third day of exam week, the morning meeting was still held.
Ichijou Masaki and his classmates were waiting in their seats for 10 minutes
before class. The teacher, however, came into the classroom with only 1 minute
before to spare. He was a 50 year old man with a strong build, and this teacher was
not one to achieve the respect of students by being friendly towards them, but one
who relied on their clear leadership qualities to command them.
At 7:55, as the teacher was relaying some of his experience, powerful magic waves
suddenly flowed through the classroom. Masaki almost jumped as he felt the strong waves of magic. He was not the only one to have this reaction as several students in
this classroom actually rose from their seats.
The teacher did not reproach them for this behavior.
“The morning meeting is canceled. All wait in their places,” the teacher said with a
stern face as he gestured to the students who had stood up. After this, he left the
classroom.
As he listened to the whispering voices of his classmates, Masaki pressed his lips
tightly.
"The epicenter of the psionic waves was in the north... no, the north-north-west? The
fluctuations were strong, but the epicenter was quite far away..."
Masaki only felt that this had happened “far away”, but he automatically linked this
incident with the conflict occurring between the New Soviet Union and the Great
Asian Alliance.
At the training terminal, he opened a section of the world map around the Sea of
Japan. The training terminals at Third High had access to all sorts of geopolitical data,
including data on military use of magic.
"More than 800 kilometers away, but still containing so much power... Is this Tuman
Bomba...?"
Masaki shuddered as he realized the true power of magic causing the psionic waves,
thinking that this was the real power of the Mist-bomb.
In reality, however, Masaki had underestimated the true power of Bezobrazov’s
Strategic Class Magic: Bezobrazov had carefully controlled the power of the
explosion, and only a fraction of the true power was used.
◊ ◊ ◊
The Third High students were not the only ones who caught the residual
psionic waves “Tuman Bomba”. The large-scale oscillations produced disturbed the
magicians all over Japan. Tatsuya felt them as he was returning home from First High
before using his Elemental Sight to investigate.
"...The area covered by the explosions is about 3 square kilometers, and they extended
about 20 meters upwards. The goal should have been the destruction of ground
troops."
The area of the explosions this time had been expanded to destroy more of the
military vehicles of the Great Asian Alliance, which were spread over a large area.
"The density of the magic sequences were low, but many explosions occurred
simultaneously over vast area. There will be significant damage to their own country.
Is this some kind of scorched earth tactics?" Tatsuya wondered.
This was not the original meaning of the phrase, but they destroyed the enemy
army at a cost of their own land. The government must be confident in the
understanding of the people to use a tactic such as this. Still, the tactic was extremely
effective. 150-200 tanks were destroyed in addition to the military equipment and
infantry vehicles following, so the number of enemy soldiers killed should have been
between 5 and 10 thousand people.
"This is slightly different than what I expected, but the winner of this war was
predetermined."
Even Tatsuya could not have imagined that the New Soviet Union - or more
accurately, Bezobrazov - would perform such a self-destructive counterattack. Still,
this ruthlessness would only add to the psychological shock that Bezobrazov was still
alive and well, so the Great Asian Alliance would almost certainly be unable to
continue.
Tatsuya laid his head on the headrest of the car in the electric train and closed his eyes
to focus.
"... It was a complete rout. The Great Asian Alliance will not be able to conduct
military operations abroad for some time." Tatsuya concluded. "Now, if the New
Soviet Union sends the Far Eastern fleet, they will not worry about an attack from the
rear. I don’t know what excuse they’ll come up with, but... it must be that the fleet has
already been mobilized.”
“There is no more time to spare.”
Tatsuya said this out loud. He was developing new Strategic Class magic based
on the Chain Casting of Tuman Bomba to prepare to stop the advance of the New
Soviet Union fleet. Now Tatsuya realized he had to hurry with its completion. Tatsuya
only had to wait a couple more minutes before arriving at the station closest to his
home. However, even this slight loss of time now stressed Tatsuya.
◊ ◊ ◊
At the time of Tuman Bomba’s activation, Liu Li Lei had not moved forward
with the rest of the troops, staying behind in the rear. The plan was for the infantry
following the tanks and transport workers to unite with the main forces after defeating
the enemy. In compliance with this plan, the officer commanding Liu’s escort squad
daringly decided to head north to occupy Vozdvizhenka airfield knowing that the
army of the New Soviet Union was moving south from Khabarovsk. This plan saved
Liu Li Lei from the Mist-bomb.
After the activation of Tuman Bomba, the officer commanding Liu’s escort unit
contacted headquarters ordered the unit to evacuate back to the territory of the Great
Asian Alliance. Given the situation with the invading army was practically destroyed,
this proposition was natural. However, the command Great Asian Alliance’s military
ordered Liu Li Lei and her escort detachment to remain in their current position.
Though the New Soviet Union had to know their location, they did not attack or
surround the group Liu was hiding in.
◊ ◊ ◊
Tatsuya canceled both the trip to Miyaki Island and his training session for "Sealing
Sphere" with Mikihiko. Having notified Mikihiko of this, he retired in the morning to
the laboratory located in the basement of the building where he lived.
His research data for the new Strategic Class magic was with him on a flash drive that
he updated daily. Because of this habit, he was able to continue work on the new
magic in the basement of his home without delay.
The most surprising part of this was that he did not escort Miyuki. Of course,
regardless of Tatsuya’s presence, an escort always followed her at some distance, and
Tatsuya always watched her with his Elemental Sight. Nevertheless, it was an
exceptional case in which he allowed Miyuki to remain alone.
But in this case, Tatsuya felt that all of his time had to be spent designing the new
Strategic Class magic.
He finished the basic design of the magic before dinner, but he did not have the
activation sequence for the magic ready quite then. All he had was a blueprint
describing the systems of the magic. After spending another day working, Tatsuya
would have an activation sequence prepared for use, but he stopped at this stage for a
reason.
"It would be best to entrust the completion of the activation sequence to an engineer
close to the magician, who will be using it."
Because of this idea, he sent the project’s data to the First Laboratory, now known as
the Kanazawa Institute of Natural and Magical Sciences, specifying the recipient and
user of the magic.
◊ ◊ ◊
After killing Kudou Retsu three days ago, Minoru hid in his hideout at the
Kobe shelter. When he finally met up again with Raymond and Regulus, it was
already evening of the day Tuman Bomba destroyed the Great Asian Alliance’s army.
“Minoru, are you feeling better now?” Regulus inquired restrainedly. Minoru had
locked himself away for the past few days under the pretense that he “felt bad”.
“Almost everything is in order,” Minoru responded.
What Minoru meant by “feeling bad” was not a deterioration of his physical
condition, as might have happened before his conversion into a parasite, but rather
guilt of killing his grandfather. Minoru just wanted to be left alone, so Regulus acted
reserved just in case.
“I see.”
As Minoru talked, Regulus got the feeling that Minoru was… different, somehow
from the way he was when they first met.
...It was like he was longer a man. He looked more like a Parasite.
That was the impression Regulus got as he looked at Minoru. Though he did not
voice the thought, it was still conveyed to Minoru. However, Minoru acted as if he
did not notice.
“Did you two also felt the magic this morning?” Minoru asked.
“Yeah. It was Tuman Bomba, right?” Raymond joined the conversation at this point.
“I am not sure yet, but I believe the USNA will make a move off of this. I cannot
confirm yet with the country, but I will relay the information as I find out,” Regulus
stated.
Raymond only nodded with interest, but Regulus, as an elite soldier, thought about
how this event would affect their actions.
“The Pentagon definitely has more detailed information than Stars. If you receive any
instructions from America, give priority to them over our current goal. However,
Jack, could you help me with something for now?” Minoru asked
“Now?” clarified Regulus, not quite understanding
The rainy season was not over yet. There was no rain today, but the sky was overcast
so it was already dark outside. “Now” was the best time for doing an activity
undetected. Even so, Regulus still thought that right “now” might not be the best time
to start doing something.
“We’ll be back before midnight,” Minoru assured.
“...Alright. I will go with you.”
In the summer, the time difference between New Mexico and Japan is 15 hours.
At midnight, Japanese time, at Stars headquarters it would be 9 am. If everything
worked as Minoru claimed, it would be unlikely for instructions from America to
appear during their attack, and even if orders do come, Stars’s fourth squad that had
penetrated into Yokosuka would inform them about it later. Regulus was aware that
the three members of fourth squad - Vega, Speke and Deneb – had successfully
penetrated the base of Yokosuka as well as that Arcturus had failed his penetration
and was sealed in the process. It was not only he who knew this, either. Both
Raymond and Minoru also knew this “shared” information through the telepathic
network of Parasites.
“May I go too? I do not want to be alone,” Raymond asked.
After Regulus had agreed, Raymond intervened in the conversation once more,
making a disgruntled face.
“You do understand that this will be a secret penetration mission, right? Raymond, I
don’t believe that suits you,” Minoru said.
However, Raymond objected, saying “It’s not a problem,” in response.
“Minoru. Though Raymond lacks experience, he has potential. I'll cover at difficult
times, so let's bring him as well.”
Seeing that Raymond was starting to boil, Regulus intervened in their
conversation so that the matter did not come to an argument. Still, while he defended
Raymond, he acknowledged that Minoru was right, so he offered to cover for him if
necessary.
Upon hearing Regulus’ arguments, Raymond stopped complaining.
“Well, if Jack says so...”
Minoru also decided to yield, so they accepted the compromise.
They drove a car on the highway as they moved towards their destination. After
driving for an hour, they arrived at their destination.
“Here we are, I suppose.”
“The main house of the Kudou family. My house.”
Minoru responded to Raymond's hunch himself. In order to avoid detection, they
stopped the car some distance from the Kudou house.
Kudou. It's sad to have to sneak around his own home... Minoru came out of the car
with a bitter smile. Regulus and Raymond followed him.
“My family should know by now that I have become a parasite, so nothing can be
done,” Minoru said.
Shrugging, he headed for the back entrance to the house. Regulus and Raymond
exchanged glances, then followed. Near the corner of the fence, Minoru stopped and
looked at them.
“From here on, take care to not emit psionic waves,” Minoru warned.
“Got it.”
“Okay.”
Satisfied with their answers, Minoru went on. Both Regulus and Raymond had
noticed Minoru used magic several times while they were walking, but neither of
them understood what he had been doing. They walked right behind Minoru followed
him inside the hedge fence. Once inside, they entered an imperceptible passage
hidden by the fence.
Suddenly, they were in front of a small door made in an old style. Minoru felt his
breath catch.
“Now you may use magic,” Minoru informed his companions, turning around. “Please
neutralize the people on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I would prefer you not kill them.”
“Affirmative.”
Hearing Regulus's answer, Minoru nodded and opened the door. None of them took of
their shoes, but that was quite natural given the circumstances.
“I'm so excited!”
“Just don't be silly, Raymond,” Regulus warned.
Glancing at his partners for this expedition, Minoru headed to the first floor dining
room. “This is about the time that my family would be dining…” Minoru thought.
Perhaps his two older sisters also came from their husbands' houses to attend the
funeral of their grandfather.
"Though the funeral should be on Sunday in 2 weeks...."
While locked up in his room, Minoru hadn’t been wasting his time – he was
collecting information. When he found out the plans for the funeral of his
grandfather, he was shocked at his lack of emotions before he convinced himself that
his emotions were simply paralyzed. He was unable to recognize the possibility that
his mindset had become that of a Parasite, because in his mind, he was still himself.
This was the premise of Minoru’s actions. If this were to prove false, he would no
longer have any justification for his actions.
Suddenly Minoru, sensing a sudden nausea, put his hand to his mouth. He took
this as evidence that he had finally realized the death of Ojii-sama, but… “the sadness
is already completely gone," Minoru realized, telling himself. He had automatically
distracted himself from his thought that his mindset might be becoming that of a
Parasite. Perhaps this was a self-defense mechanism.
The Kudou family’s mansion was extensive. To get from the back door to the dining
room, one had to go through many corridors and rooms, but Minoru had grown up in
this house. He knew the corridors by heart and was able to reach the dining room
unnoticed without getting lost.
Minoru instinctively reached out to knock on the door, but he realized what he was
doing and stopped himself, smiling bitterly. He remembered that he was an “intruder",
and shaking his head, he lowered his hand to the handle and opened the door.
“Who is this!? ...Minoru?”
This was the reaction of his second oldest brother who sat closest to the door. He
acted surprised, but this was likely because he had his back to the door when Minoru
entered. However, the main reason for his panic was that Minoru had ceased to hide
the signs of the Parasite’s presence.
“Minoru...!”
The eldest brother reacted a bit differently, but there he was similarly surprised: he
jumped up so sharply that his chair fell. However, his surprise did not hinder his
reaction as he pulled out his CAD and started activation sequence.
The magic he started was called Luna Strike. Automatically accounting for the fact
that they are in a small room, he started a Mental-Interference magic.
Kudou Haruaki, the eldest son of the Kudo family, was best at the external systematic
magic of mental-interference of the Four Systems and Eight types of modern magic.
Haruaki should not have been mistaken for attempting a basic attacking spell of
mental-interference magic, “Luna Strike”. However, even with his experience, he
failed to activate even this magic.
“Haruaki’s moon strike was canceled...?”
The eldest daughter of the Kudou family, Kudou Byakka, muttered this in a surprised
voice. Haruaki was experienced with this type of magic, so his Luna Strike activation
was very quick. None of his siblings would have been able to prevent the activation of
Haruaki’s magic.
“Why did you come?”
Kudou Shino, Minoru’s “mother”, asked Minoru this with a calm face and a calm
voice.
“Father has not returned home yet?” Ignoring Shino’s question, Minoru asked his
own.
“Makoto-sama said he was late due to factory inspection.”
Shino was more than 12 years younger than Makoto, so she always spoke like this –
not just in front of Minoru.
“At the factory?” Minoru continued his questions.
Although Minoru asked again with a doubt in his voice, he immediately rethought his
question, remembering that the Kudou family had invested in many military
enterprises – there was nothing strange with him inspecting a factory.
“Would you tell me where this factory is located?”
“Yes, of course.”
Sino instantly agreed, and gave him the address of a place located on the outskirts of
the Ikoma city – the same city in which this mansion resided.
“If you have business with Makoto-sama, then you should have said so from the
beginning. If you had, Haruaki and the others would not be in such an inappropriate
condition right now.”
Thus, she scolded them for such a cold reception of Minoru. Minoru was not shocked
by her attitude.
“Kaa-san1, I have no more questions for you.”
Shino and his siblings Asuka and Byakka all frowned at this. Though the impoliteness
of his phrase essentially saying “I don’t need you anymore” also provoked discontent,
they also had a vague feeling that his saying of “Kaa-san” had a meaning different
than “mother”. However, neither the eldest nor the second daughter had time to
comprehend it.
“…but I want my brothers and sisters to become my strength,” Minoru continued.
“What do you mean?”
Asuka, the second daughter, asked this in an aggressive tone. However, her anxious
face made it obvious that she was only pretending to be strong.
“Become my subordinates. Oh yes, I don’t mean that I want to become the head of the
Kudou family - this will only be temporary until I reach my goal. However, I realized
that I am not a match for the Saegusa, Juumonji, and Yotsuba families, so I request
your assistance to achieve my goals.”
“Do you want us to betray families in the same position as us, the Ten Main Clans!?”
shouted Soushi, the second son.
“What do you mean, Soushi-niisan? The Kudou family is no longer a member the Ten
Master Clans,” Minoru retorted.
“…”
Soushi didn’t have any way to respond to Minoru’s parry, so he fell silent.
“Even if we are not a part of the Ten Master clans, we will not submit to a monster!
Especially if it is you, the killer of Ojii-sama,”, yelled the Haruaki. The willpower of
the next head of the Kudou family was clearly strong. He once again tried to activate
magic towards Minoru.
“Urgh...!”

Minoru’s words in the original kanji imply that he knows the truth about his origins:
that his mother was not his real mother and his parents were siblings.
Before he could activate his magic sequence, he grabbed his chest and bent over in
pain. Minoru had activated a mental-interference magic causing pain with
overwhelming speed.
“Please stop useless resistance,” Minoru said in an indifferent tone, looking at
Haruaki. “I understand that as a former representatives of the Ten Master Clans, you
cannot kneel before a demon. That is why I do not wish to take the place of the head
of the family and do not plan to ask for public cooperation. It is for you to secretly
lend me strength in such a way that the Ten Master Clans are unaware of it.”
Minoru gave an innocent smile, like a child – containing no hidden meaning or
flattery – while also giving the smile of a monarch – an uncaring smile that does not
care about the feelings of others.
Minoru’s words were not answered. Haruaki did not know what to say, both
daughters and the second son were intimidated by their difference in power. His
"official" mother showed no fear on her face, but she pressed her lips together and
turned away from Minoru's gaze.
“I understand that you cannot agree to my request without the permission of my
father. I'll talk to him first, so please wait here,” Minoru told them.
As soon as he completed his speech, Minoru activated mental interference
magic forcibly putting them to sleep. His "mother”, sisters, and brothers each fell
from their chairs as if all of their strength had been taken from their bodies. Still, this
could be called the better outcome as if they had fallen onto the table, their faces
would have been covered in food.
Minoru had not limited his magic’s activation range to his family members. All
of the servants and workers who were on the first floor fell asleep at the same time,
and though some of them were injured as they fell asleep while working, Minoru
found all the injured and applied healing magic to them. Once he was finished,
Minoru met Regulus and Raymond in the hall leading to the main entrance.
“Minoru.”
When Regulus came down the stairs and called Minoru, he stopped and looked up at
him.
“Have you finished?” Minoru asked.
“Yes, they are all sleeping. Three were able to provide some resistance, but in the end
we managed to put them to sleep without killing them.”
“Excellent.”
Minoru nodded with a smile.
“By the way, I assume you asked us to put them to sleep and not to kill them because
you want to use them somehow?” Raymond asked curiously as he came down after
Regulus.
“I’m not looking for help from the servants of the main house, but rather from
subordinates working outside the main family. However, since relatives and friends
may be here, I would rather not make myself their enemy,” Minoru explained.
“Hmmm... Still, after killing Shogun Kudou, isn't it is a bit late to worry about that?”
“Raymond!” Regulus reprimanded.
Raymond sucked in his neck when Regulus chided him, raising his voice. “Minoru,
that, well...”
“Jack, don't worry about it.”
With a soothing tone, Minoru answered in a hurry to give an excuse for Raymond.
“I killed my grandfather - that is a fact. However, there are also many people who
pledged allegiance to my father and not to my grandfather. These are the people I plan
to ask for help.”
“Heh...”
Raymond’s answer had not contained any sign of having contemplated his words.
This might have been why Minoru was not angry.
“Let’s go to where my father is now. Please follow me,” Minoru said as he left
through the main entrance without waiting for an answer.
◊ ◊ ◊
The Kanazawa Institute of Natural and Magical Sciences (formerly the First
Laboratory of the Development of Magic Abilities) had a dormitory with single rooms
for researchers. Kichijouji Shinkuro, a student of the Third School of the National
University of Magic, also worked as a researcher at the institute and lived in the
afore-mentioned dormitory.
Third High, like First High, was in the middle of their examination week.
However, Kichijouji did not need to spend much time preparing for exams, so he only
planned to spend about two hours preparing for the next exam and spent the rest of the time on research. As he had discovered a Cardinal Code, he was free to spend his time
and the budget of the institute to work to complete the theory of the Cardinal codes,
but his work was not limited to research on Cardinal Codes. Magic science had not yet
reached a stage of development to have specialized sections, and leading researchers
often put forward new hypotheses on a variety of different magical topics.
Kichijouji practically lived in the laboratories of the first institute, and recently
the boundaries between his work time and personal time had began to blur even
further. Even today, he returned to his laboratory after dinner and turned on his
terminal, intending to continue his research. His plans were halted, however, as he
discovered a message on his terminal. Outside messages were tested for security, so if
it had reached his terminal, it was safe.
“From Shiba Tatsuya...?”
Kichijouji opened his eyes wide after seeing the name of the sender. He knew
the message would concern theory of magic because it was sent to the institute, but
Kichijouji and Tatsuya had no previous relationship in the form of exchanging
research. They hadn’t exchanged personal messages, either, so there was no precedent
for this message. This message was completely unexpected for Kichijouji, but he
began to read it with the thought, “what did he send me?”
“...What...!?” he exclaimed.
He accelerated the speed at which he was reading, but before he finished reading the
message, he opened the attached file. The contents of the message were so shocking
that he wanted to confirm it as soon as possible.
“....”
The file contained a blueprint of an activation sequence. The message
contained a description of how the activation sequence would build the magic
sequence: it described in detail what base magic to use in creating a working magic
sequence in addition to describing what modules to include in the activation sequence.
Kichijouji’s eye caught an unknown module in the picture while skimming over it.
“Chain Casting?”
Kichijouji had never heard of such a technology before.
“The technology on which Tuman Bomba is based...Is that true?" Kichijouji thought.
He still did not understand why Shiba Tatsuya provided him with such secret
information.
He re-read the module entries, confirming that this was not an intricate joke.
“…The required ability to calculate this magic is too high. Even I couldn’t handle it.”
After reading the description of the Chain Casting module a few times,
Kichijouji noticed this problem. When compared to the average magician, Kichijouji
had a much higher ability to handle magic, but even with his abilities, Chain Casting
was too much to be calculated. Chain Casting was a technology that allowed one to
perform large-scale magic by copying small sequences of magic in a chain. However,
the amount of information caused from the "secondary" sequences of magic was quite
simply, huge. In order to reduce the total amount of calculations required, the size of
each magic sequence was compressed to the maximum, but even with this in mind,
this was an impossible task for one magician to cope with.
“You can reduce the load on the magician by processing all of the variables to a high￾performance connected to a CAD. But even doing this, Goki-san would probably not
be able to handle it. But Masaki could succeed.”
Kichijouji stopped as he heard his own voice.
"Will this be used by Masaki?"
He thought this without speaking it out loud.
"...If you reorganize the activation sequence by specifying the desired size, would
Masaki be able to use it?"
Kichijouji reread the basis of the project again before he understood the true meaning
behind the planned magic.
"It can’t be..." Kichijouji thought. “Is this the basic idea behind ‘Break’, a wide scale
magic applied to the water surface with the help of the Chain Casting!?”
Kichijouji read through the last lines of the text, which he had not reached earlier.
They read:
"Kichijouji and Ichijou, I wish you luck."
◊ ◊ ◊
As he arrived at the address he received from his foster mother, Minoru
frowned at the building. As far as he knew, this factory produced androids, the
production of which used the latest nanotechnology. They quickly entered through the
main entrance by using Golden Electronic Silkworms without bothering to conceal
themselves.
As they expected, the “guards” soon appeared. They consisted of female-model
androids – they were the so-called combat gynoids. Moving cleverly and quickly,
these gynoids started to attack Minoru, but Raymond's psychokinesis pushed the
robot soldiers back.
“Oh? They are sturdy?” Raymond said, surprised that his attack had not done much.
Raymond had applied psychokinesis with the intend to crush the gynoids.
However, the mechanical bodies of the gynoids did not break, and gradually pushed
forward against the psychokinesis. Suddenly, sparks flew as the gynoids experienced
electric shock – caused by Regulus’ magic. The gynoids froze and fell to the floor.
“These robo-soldiers are quite effective. The strength of their enclosures is
astounding.”
Regulus expressed his impressions of the gynoids as a soldier himself. However,
Minoru’s was not focused on the performance of the machines, but on a different
thought: "Are these dummies for making parasite dolls...?"
“Come on. Let’s not waste time.”
Minoru kept his suspicions to himself, and Regulus and Raymond hurried on. Minoru
left them and searched for his father, eventually finding him on the production line.
“I thought you would be in the control room,” Makoto said.
Minoru did not respond to these words. Makoto may have had a desire to talk, but the
crowd of people that had closed in on them made this impossible.
“Could you let go of your guard? I'm not going to cause trouble if you don’t attack
me. You don’t need to worry about the factory.”
A group of workers hiding behind the most recently produced robots (non￾humanoid robots) showed relief on their faces when they heard the words of Minoru.
One person was in a shirt with trousers, but the rest were in work overalls. These were
clearly employees of this factory. In contrast to the attire of the workers, the men in
front of Minoru in dark suits - not suitable for wearing at the height of summer – and
rather than relief, there expressions grew more tense. Everyone there was on their toes
due to the intense atmosphere – even a slight sudden action could cause them to
attack.
“Leave us.”
Kudou Makoto finally spoke, requesting privacy. After a bit of hesitating, the crowd
of bodyguards finally parted.
“We have not seen each other for a while now, father.”
Minoru showed no signs of timidity towards his elder, but this was obviously due to
their vast difference in strength. Still, given their relationship, this could be perceived
as unnatural.
“I thought you would come much earlier,” Makoto responded.
Makoto should probably have shown a bit of guilt, but his expression was neutral.
“I originally thought that you were a defective product, but it turns out that you were
just unfinished. Still, I didn’t expect you to become complete by becoming a
monster.”
Minoru did not get angry or cry from Makoto’s harsh words, and instead he smiled
coldly.
“Thank you for showing your true feelings. Thanks to this, now I, too, may not feel
guilty,” Minoru said.
“I didn’t think that monsters would have emotions like guilt,” Makoto mused.
“There’s a theory that the true body of the Parasite arises from activities originating in
the minds of people. If its true, then it’s not surprising that we have human emotions,”
Minoru explained.
“That’s if its correct.”
Makoto’s aggressive behavior didn’t change Minoru’s attitude much, but
Minoru lost the desire to continue this empty conversation with his father and got to
the main point.
“This factory is making dummies for parasite dolls, isn’t it?”
“Did you come to ask about this?” Makoto avoided Minoru’s question.
“How many such dolls are in stock? Though, I guess you can not answer. Hey, you,
over there, answer me.”
Minoru interrupted Makoto and turned to the man in the shirt.
“W-we have 24 fully completed dummies, and 12 completed by more than 50%.”
“In total, 2 times more than ready ones with a transplanted parasite? Father, I thought
you abandoned plans to sell them to the SDF,” Minoru commented.
“Why should I have stopped? There were no problems with the dolls themselves my
predecessor simply chose the wrong way to check them.”
By “predecessor," he meant Kudo Retsu. Minoru also agreed with the utility of
parasitic dolls, but Minoru grow colder at Makoto’s words reprimanding Retsu.
Minoru silently condemned his father for his words.
“In that case, I ask the Kudou family to obey my orders regarding both completed and
unfinished dolls.”
Minoru’s voice held a lot of pressure now that he had gotten colder.
“Alright,” Makoto said.
Minoru felt that Makoto had responded too easily, and wondered if Makoto had
actually processed his demand.
“Head-sama, are you sure!?”
His bodyguards showed the natural reaction to Makoto’s agreement.
“Resistance is useless,” Makoto answered them in a lifeless tone. It was slightly
different than the indifferent way he usually spoke. “Minoru is the finished product of
the “ninth” magicians. He defeated the Patriarch, so now Minoru is the most powerful
magician in the Kudou family. It’s natural that for us to obey him,” Makoto finished.
Neither his voice nor his face expressed any discontent, and when Makoto said
“finished product”, his voice had a feeling of satisfaction rather than discontent.
Makoto was proud of what his son had become.
◊ ◊ ◊
While Minoru was at the factory gaining the obedience of the Kudou family,
Tatsuya and Miyuki were eating a late dinner.
“Sorry about today.”
Tatsuya suddenly apologized without any preliminary words.
“Onii-sama... I have no idea what you're talking about."
Miyuki rolled her eyes as she asked what was going on.
“Today you had to return from school alone.”
“Oh, that’s are you talking about...”
Miyuki had been slightly stressed from the misunderstanding, worried that her brother
was apologizing in advance for some job he had to do.
“I know that Onii-sama is worried, but Onii-sama is no longer my Guardian, and the
bodyguards do a fine job.”
“Even though you say you don’t need it, I can’t help but worry,” Tatsuya said.
“R-really? Thank you…”
Miyuki blushed, looked away, and whispered: "Onii-sama is so dishonest."
Tatsuya heard these words, but opted to ignore them. He was not sadistic enough to
give Miyuki the stress it would take to explain herself. At this point, there
conversation paused until they finished dinner, removed their dishes from the table,
and sat across from each other drinking from coffee cups.
“May I ask what Onii-sama did today?”
Miyuki started with this question. She believed that Tatsuya should not have
apologized, but also was interested in what her fiancé was doing.
“...Of course.”
Tatsuya hesitated momentarily, but nodded after a short delay. He had not originally
planned to discuss it, but decided that there was no reason to keep this a secret from
Miyuki.
“It is possible that the New Soviet Union, now victorious over Great Asian Alliance,
will go south across the Sea of Japan.”
“New Soviet Union plans to start a war with Japan!?” Miyuki exclaimed.
“I doubt that they would suddenly declare war, but they can make up another reason
to send a fleet. For example, to seize "war criminals" who allegedly fled to Japan after
the end of the conflict,” Tatsuya explained.
“Is it possible that the Japanese government would accept soldiers who have escaped
from the Great Asian Alliance?”
“In this situation, any justification will do. As for the purpose of the New Soviet
Union, I have several guesses, but whatever it is, we must be prepared for a real
invasion.”
“Will you act the same way as you did during the Yokohama incident?”
“I won’t be able to ignore it. One of the conditions for His Excellency Todo to
provide support for the ESCAPES project was the formation of a force holding back
the military ambitions of other countries. However, unlike the Yokohama incident,
this will not end just by using Material Burst once.
“…Why?”
“Unlike the Great Asian Alliance that time, the New Soviet Union is aware of the
existence of an explosion from the direct conversion of matter to energy. If they resort
to military action, they will have to have taken countermeasures to ensure that cities
and bases are not destroyed,” Tatsuya answered.
“But I think that there is no way for the New Soviet Union to defend against Onii￾sama’s magic...” Miyuki said.
“It is impossible to say for sure that there is no magical means of protection against
the explosion of matter, but there is also a way to prevent me from carrying out an
attack without applying magical counteraction.”
“How is this possible?” Miyuki asked.
“For example, they could declare Vladivostok to be ‘unprotected’.”
“What would this do?”
“By declaring a city ‘unprotected’, they are claiming that military facilities adjacent to
it will not stop an attack on it. The existence of military objects makes them a military
force, but if the military port of Vladivostok is attacked with Material Burst, the city
will also be damaged. The magic is too dense to be used to attack a dense area. We
won’t be able to use Material Burst if we don’t want to become a criminal country
known for ignoring international martial law,” Tatsuya explained.
“I think that’s a bit suspicious…” Miyuki responded.
“Indeed, it would be quite questionable. However, even if we know it to be a hoax, if
they make the claim officially, we would have to respect it.”
Miyuki did not even try to hide the fact that she couldn’t accept this, but the rule was
the rule, no matter how ridiculous. Excuses in international politics excuses could be
said to have an “attacking force” greater than nuclear weapons.
“There are also ways to prevent the use of the Blast of Matter against naval forces. By
preparing a fleet of refugees and keeping them at a distance such that stray bullets
from conventional weapons would not be able to reach the fleet, the fleet would be safe from ordinary military fights, but I would not be able to use an explosion great
enough to destroy the fleet without damaging the fleet of refugees.
“…All problems due to too much destructive power. Couldn’t you regulate the power
appropriately?” Miyuki asked.”
“The destructive power is too difficult to regulate, and Material Burst is not a magic
that can be practiced so easily. This is the greatest weakness of Material Burst: it is a
weapon effective only for annihilating the enemy and not fighting with finesse.
Because of this, a different method of interception is needed if the New Soviet Union
chooses to attack.”
“…So this is why Onii-sama has been developing new magic?”
Miyuki asked this with shining eyes, with no trace of her previously gloomy face.
Tatsuya slightly smiled at this transformation, then nodded with a serious face.
“The basic blueprint has already been completed, and I left further work to those who
will be using this magic,” Tatsuya answered.
“Onii-sama will not use this magic?” Miyuki said, surprised.
“I can’t use any magic except Decomposition and Recovery.” Tatsuya smiled.
“...I apologize.” Miyuki had momentarily forgotten about Tatsuya’s weaknesses as a
magician.
“It’s okay.”
Tatsuya, with his smile seeming to say, “don't worry,” had still not told Miyuki
about the basis of the new Strategic class magic using Chain Casting. He had only told
this to Kichijouji in order to use Masaki. However, if one were to think only about
fitness...
The system of Chain Casting was also suitable for Miyuki.
◊ ◊ ◊
The command system of Stars required orders for operations to be transmitted
from the headquarters in the Pentagon directly to the commander in chief. However,
due to the absence of the commander-in-chief, the order was instead delivered to the
base commander.
Local time: July 4, 10:00. Japanese time: July 5, 01:00. Colonel Walker, the base
commander, was speechless when he saw the order.
“I can understand the sabotage of the Star Reactor plant, but...”
The order contained a strategic plan that was written some time ago in order to
eliminate the threat of the Strategic-class magician Shiba Tatsuya. The first part of the
plan consisted of destroying the Star Reactor plant, followed by using international
pressure to force him to take part in Project Dione. Though less reliable a direct
method such as the murder of Shiba Tatsuya, the level of risk of the operation
significantly lower in comparison so the command gave the go-ahead to the plan. The
actual implementation had been canceled due to the reappearance of the Parasites, but
the plan was still considered to be a reliable way to deal with Shiba Tatsuya so it was
now being taken off the shelf. It was somewhat expected for the plan to be tried now
that the matter with the Parasites had become somewhat stable, but still…
“We’re supposed to accomplish this during a diversion maneuver by the Far Eastern
fleet of the New Soviet Union...?”
Walker was well aware that the USNA and NSU were collaborating on the Dione
project, but he couldn’t fathom the idea that cooperation in military operations was in
the realm of possibility. For the soldiers who had fought the NSU on the battlefield,
this outcome was especially unthinkable.
“I guess one should not dwell on the past...”
However, Walker could not completely convince himself of this. Even high ranking
officers could not help but be affected by their emotions on this topic, so the feelings
must be especially intense for the soldiers who had risked their lives on the battlefield.
Walker was worried about having to choose candidates for this operation.
“I need to be careful with the choice of candidates, but… no, it’s too late now.”
The stars had already teams to Japan, and it would be too much to recall the current
teams and send new ones to replace them. Regulus and Vega's squad had successfully
penetrated Japan, so from this point on, there was no possibility for changes in the
roster. People from another unit would be sent for support, but Walker was not
involved in this. As he went through this chain of thought, Walker remembered
something.
“...At the beginning of last month, the sabotage at the Star Reactor plant was
entrusted to Arcturus and Vega…would Captain Arcturus be able to return to this
mission despite being seriously wounded immediately after entering Japan?”
◊ ◊ ◊
July 5, early morning.
Two women wearing an American Army uniform entered Yokosuka Naval
Base. A USNA aircraft carrier was currently in the base’s port, so most officers and
soldiers of the American army did not attract much attention. These two women, on
the other hand, were noticeable because they both looked as if they had come off the
covers of fashion magazines.
One was a typical "urban beauty" with short, brown hair and brown eyes. Her
demeanor gave off an atmosphere that made her look stylish even in her short-sleeved
training t-shirt.
The other was a charming beauty with a Scandinavian appearance: long, silver hair
and deep blue eyes. She also had big breasts, which, only covered by a tank top,
offered a significant distraction to the young male soldiers.
“Ahhh… the heat...”
Fanning her chest with her hand, Leila Deneb (the Scandinavian beauty) groaned as
she completed the training. It was not just jogging: it was a tougher training that
combined sprints, jumps, squats, and stretches.
“Ah…Japan…didn’t expect…so hot...” Leila mumbled as she tried to get her point
across.
“The high temperature and humidity are caused by the tropical ocean air mass typical
for this time of year.” As she swept the sweat from her forehead, Charlotte Vega (the
city beauty) responded articulately to the broken complaints of Leila.
“Now I understand why First Lieutenant Spica did not want to go out...” Leila had
recovered her breath somewhat as she listened to Vega speak, and was now able to
make sentences.
These three women, when including Lieutenant Spica, mentioned by Leila,
were a squad of Stars currently infiltrating Japan. All three had been turned into
Parasites before going to Japan, and even though they had been turned transformed
against their will without any warning, after the assimilation was completed, they did
not show any dissatisfaction with their situation. Their discontent at the moment was
primarily because they still had to succumb to the heat despite having ceased to be
human.
“‘Independence’ is back,” Leila observed.
On the way back to their hostel, they saw outlines of the aircraft carrier that had
penetrated Japan. This was the sixth generation of the Independence aircraft carriers –
war veterans whose construction had begun even before World War III. The original
blueprints required the ship to be equipped with a nuclear reactor, but since the
installation of nuclear reactors on warships had been banned during the war, it had to
be replaced with a hydrogen turbine engine.
“I hope for good news,” Vega responded.
Independence left the port at night to train the night departure and new arrivals, but
behind this front was also a hidden goal: to obtain secret information and instructions
that could not be transmitted by radio.
“I want to quickly find out where the traitor girl is hiding.”
In an annoyed voice, Leila continued following Vega. The "traitor girl" she mentioned
was Lina.
“They would not send the message if they did not find her,” Vega stated.
They had managed to find out that Lina was not hidden by the Japanese
government, but by some other organization. However, they were no closer to finding
Lina as the Japanese government claimed to not know the location this “other
organization” was hiding her. Despite this, Vega and Leila believed that the Japanese
army had to know the location of the “traitor” Sirius, and if they increased the
pressure on them, they would eventually confess. In any case, they would probably
loosen up if they destroyed a couple “suspicious” objects.
Vega had never been a soldier who did cared much about political gain, but she
was also not a soldier who seriously thought about performing terrorist activities.
However, once she became a Parasite, her mindset changed much more noticeable
than that of the other members of the Stars.
◊ ◊ ◊
July 5, 2097, 8:00.
Regulus received an order from the headquarters of the Stars through the telepathic
network of Parasites while returning to Kobe shelter. An aircraft carrier lying in the
western part of the Pacific Ocean first received this order by telegram, and with the
help of a fighter jet, sent it to the “Independence” aircraft carrier stopped in the port of
Yokosuka. After that, Vega transmitted the order to Regulus through the Parasite collective consciousness. Since the information had been transmitted this way, the
information was also transmitted to Raymond and Minoru.
“What do you think?” Regulus asked Minoru in a physical voice.
Although Minoru was a Parasite, he still retained his human individuality. Minoru
could freely gain access to the collective consciousness of the Parasites, but Regulus,
Raymond, and the other Parasites in Stars were unable to access Minoru’s thoughts.
“The Star Headquarters’ order coincides with the distracting tactics I wanted to ask
you about, Jack. I would like you to join in the sabotage of the Star Reactor,” Minoru
answered
“During that time, will you take that girl?” Raymond asked instead of Regulus this
time.
“Exactly. Raymond, do you want to come with me?” Minoru asked
“No, I should help Jack.”
Minoru did not object to this distribution of roles.
“Even if you didn’t say anything, I was still going to follow orders from headquarters,
but...” Regulus started.
“Does something bother you?”
After a direct question to Minoru, Regulus overcame his indecision.
“Before that, I would like to confirm the current status of Commander Arcturus, and,
if possible, free it from sealing.”
Arcturus had been sealed by a Japanese magician of ancient magic immediately after
arriving at Zama base and had remained in the transport plane since his arrival.
Regulus felt it.
“Okay. Let's go and take a look at the state of Commander Arcturus,” Minoru
responded.
Minoru could have denied Regulus's this, but instead he agreed to help.
“Should we go to Tokyo when the fleet of the New Soviet Union starts moving south,
then?” Raymond asked.
Raymond's suggestion was entirely appropriate, but Minoru shook his head with a
smile.
“If the situation develops in accordance with the strategy of the Stars, then neither the
Ten Master Clans nor the self-defense forces will be able to check everyone who
comes from the West.”
Minoru's voice was filled with confidence in their freedom of action.