Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

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August 11th, AD 2092 / Okinawa - Battlefield

Tatsuya, accompanied by the Onna Airborne under the command of Kazama, had driven the invading enemy to the waters edge.

Normally, itd be Tatsuya accompanied the Onna Airborne.

However that single petite magician who stood alone at the head of a solitary infantry platoon, his form hidden beneath a full-faced helmet and Armoured Suit as he annihilated the enemy, could only be seen as such by both friend and foe alike.

The battlefield was an utterly one-sided slaughter.

Yet at the same time, it lacked all the characteristics of a slaughter. No blood sprayed.

No bodies flew.

The stench of burning flesh, the explosions capable of tearing men apart, were all absent.

The entire battlefield was dominated by an uncanny silence.

The bullets fired by the invaders, their grenades, portable rockets; all dissolved in the air as they flew towards the defenders. Shells, bombs, and missiles; all shared their fate.

The enemy soldiers still stubbornly resisting, still madly pulling their triggers also one by one blurred, warped; faded.

The soldiers following behind Tatsuya were no longer even firing now; they merely stared at the fantasy playing out before them.

Seeing their comrades disappear one after the other, the invading troops experienced the same disconcerting mockery of reality.

The instinctive fear which should have arisen from the sight of violent death was not stimulated, and despite being eaten away by unutterable fears, surrender did not cross their mind.

That was just what Tatsuya desired.

If the enemy had high level magicians on their side, they had not unilaterally been deployed yet. It didnt have anything to do with the Japanese side, but rather could be said to have stemmed from carelessness following the success of the invaders initial attack.

All of which was meaningless to Tatsuya.

Currently, his spirit was one of frenzy.

All hesitance towards death and destruction had been removed. It was as if he no longer remembered murder as a taboo.

He killed and destroyed as easily as he walked. Rather, he obliterated.

Even he could feel conflict from such wide reaching slaughter. But that conflict could not touch his immovable heart.

The sight of his sister on the brink of death had impacted him deeply to the core.

The moment one passed that threshold, his magic was as helpless as anything else. It was the first time he had attempted Regrowth on others, but from previous experience and the knowledge that his own flesh and anothers flesh were all similarly matter he knew that restoration was possible.

But not even his Regrowth could call someone back from death. Life and death was an irreversible cyclic process, the changing of state from alive to dead being purely intrinsic. Regrowth could restore a body back to a perfect state, but the dead do not come back to life. Such an inherent truth was clearer to none other than Tatsuya himself.

Even if the heart had already stopped, the brain shut down, the throat torn open, if that was the extent of their injuries then revival was still possible. Even an instantly fatal wound, as long as rebuilding the body and restarting the circulation of blood would have had even the faintest chance of resuscitating the person, his Regrowth could be said to give life to the dead.

But once the state of death had been established, he was helpless.

If he had not made it on timethat fear had been enough to drive even him into a panic. To Tatsuya, for whom not even his own death could induce true fear more accurately, he had been deprived of such an emotion the fear of losing Miyuki was all the more amplified for there being no other fears to temper him and shook him strongly, deeply, and utterly. However calm he appeared, he was currently seething with rage.

In the absence of any other emotions he was simply calmly, methodically retaliating without hesitation.

In a manner of speaking, it was a rational frenzy. A madness dominated only by one purpose.

Allowing the enemy no surrender, his madness greedily devoured the lives of all within his path.

While the routed enemy frontlines could only be said to be in a state of collapse, their chain of command was yet intact.

The enemy commander, determining that holding a bridgehead was no longer tenable, ordered a retreat out to sea.

The invasion forces fought to be first into the landing craft on the beach.

To escape the grasp of the devil even now advancing towards them step by step. Not knowing that there also, Death awaited them with his scythe held high.

Faced with the sight of the enemy fleeing and no longer counterattacking, Tatsuya halted.

Suddenly remembering their role, the Onna Airborne assumed formation and prepared to shoot.

Yet faster than the command fire! could be given, Tatsuya activated his power.

Its not that there arent magicians who would emit enough interference for it to be visible.

A truly excellent magician uses no more force than absolutely necessary to achieve the desired event modification without otherwise altering the world, while a magician with equal power yet inferior skill will occasionally cause unintentional event modifications from time to time. The side effects in this instance however were purely physical.

The soldiers pushing into the small amphibious assault crafts, as well as the boats themselves disintegrated and scattered into the air. The visible distortion was caused by the boats sudden evaporation, forming gaseous layers of different densities and refracting light.

The soldiers who had been scrambling to board the next craft stopped moving. The patter of water could be heard as they threw their weapons into the sea. The sound spread, as if a chain reaction.

A white flag was raised.

By raising the naval flag of the Great Asian Alliance at the same time, they were evidently banking on protective status as POWs.

Behind Tatsuya, instead of the order to shoot, the order to hold fire was given instead.

Seeing that, Tatsuya raised his right hand towards the white flag. "Stop it, you fool!"

A hand appeared along with the voice.

In order to escape that hand, Tatsuya lowered his arm and twisted around.

However his right arm, which should have escaped, was firmly gripped by another hand sprouting from the left.

"The enemy does not intend to fight any further!" He knew that perfectly well without being told.

He could not see the face of his captor due to the full face helmet, but it was a voice he had not heard before.

At the least, it wasnt Captain Kazama or Lieutenant Sanada.

In any case had Kazama attempted at any point to restrain him, Tatsuya would have had no intention of sparing the enemy regardless.

Up to if the enemy were indeed trying to surrender, exterminating the enemy before a formal surrender was established and hostilities properly ceased.

Fortunately, there were still enemies who held weapons in their hands. "I said stop!"

But Tatsuya was unable to pull the trigger on his CAD.

His vision suddenly spun around, and he lost the target coordinates for decomposition.

He felt a strong impact on his back. He realised that he had been thrown.

He immediately made to rise, and just as quickly realised that he was already being held down.

"Any more at this point would be mere butchery. I wont allow it." A handgun was held to the nose of his helmet.

"Calm yourself Special Lieutenant, Yanagi, stow that gun."

Tatsuya recognised the voice this time. He also recalled the designation Special Lieutenant. Should the need arise to mobilise civilians into actual combat, it was a rank given for the sake of convenience. The voice belonged to none other than Captain Kazama.

"Special Lieutenant, do you remember the conditions for your mobilisation?" Naturally, he knew those too.

His head, previously boiling, cooled down a little.

His battle lust subsided, and with it the desire to slaughter and destroy. "Understood."

With that reply he showed that he had unhooked his finger from the trigger of his CAD, as Yanagi removed the knee he had pressed to Tatsuyas back.

At the surrender of the landing force and their disarmament relief began to spread not only amongst Kazama's troops but also amongst the soldiers sent to intercept them; despite being understandable, it proved to be premature.

"A message from HQ!"

A communications officer rushed over to Kazama. His face, the helmet removed, was pale.

"A detachment of the enemy fleet is approaching from Aguni! Two high speed cruisers, and four destroyers!

It's too late for interception! Their artillery is estimated to come into range in 20 minutes! We have to get away from the coast as fast as possible!"

His articulation was rather excitable, but that was understandable given the situation.

"Get me a communicator."

In contrast, Kazama gave his order in subdued tones. "Sir!"

The soldier's voice was far louder than necessary.

The disarmed soldiers, holding their breath, looked at their captain. That none of them attempted to make a break for it was a disappointment to Tatsuya. It may have been that due to his undisguised bloodlust, none of the enemy soldiers were feeling particularly enthusiastic about taking their chances.

"This is Kazama. Could some torpedo boats...... no antiship aircraft are available either? What shall we do with the POWs then?......

Understood."

Putting down the communicator, Kazama took a deep breath.

"In 20 minutes time, this area will fall within range of enemy guns! All units take charge of the prisoners, and evacuate inland!"

Tatsuya couldn't believe his ears.

With no transports, and the number of prisoners far outnumbering their own troops, just how did he intend to make enough progress in 20 minutes?

Kazama's face, with his helmet removed, showed no sign of agitation. His determined visage was a mask of iron.

Even without ESP however, it was evident that he found the order to move the prisoners a bitter pill to swallow.

"Special Lieutenant, return to base for now."

That terse instruction, given in that emotionless voice only served to support Tatsuya's conclusion.

Or at the least, he thought so.

He had said return, but he meant escape.

"Do you know the exact positions of the enemy cruisers?"

Instead of complying with Kazama's instructions, Tatsuya inquired with his helmet still on.

"We do indeed, but......Sanada!"

But why, Kazama didn't ask.

Rather, he called over the one carrying the tactical information terminal.

"I'm linked to our maritime radar. Shall I transfer it to our Special Lieutenant's visor?"

"Before that."

Tatsuya interrupted between Sanada's question to Kazama.

"Did you bring the armament device with the extended range sequences you showed me on that day?"

Sanada raised his visor, and exchanged a glance with Kazama. Kazama nodded, and Sanada looked back at Tatsuya.

"I don't have it here, but if we have it lifted in by heli it can be here within five minutes"

"Please bring it as soon as possible."

At the latest, Sanada would have said, but Tatsuya cut him off with rather typically boyish haste.

Tatsuya then turned to Kazama, pulled out a wired communications line from his still fully enclosed helmet, and held it out.

Kazama merely raised his eyebrows but without a word put his own helmet back on, then connected them by plugging the wire into his terminal.

"I have a way to destroy those ships."

This secret talk he had been approached with in the presence of his subordinates began with a bombshell.

"However, I don't wish for it to be seen by the troops. Could you leave Lieutenant Sanada's device here, then move everyone out?"

Kazama could not see Tatsuya's expression.

Voices didn't carry over very well along the wired communicator either. All he had to judge with was tone, and the slight association he had had. "......Very well. However, Sanada and I will remain here."

"......Understood."

How will you command the withdrawing soldiers then? Tatsuya thought, but immediately put out of his mind as none of his concern.

As Kazama gave the order to pull out, giving command to the officer who had restrained Tatsuya before, Tatsuya awaited the arrival of the armament device.

The hectic withdrawal of the interception troops was displayed at large upon the screens in the Command and Control Centre.

Naturally, it was being viewed by Miyuki and co as well.

As the soldiers began to fall back with their prisoners in tow, three figures showed no signs of moving.

Murmurs ran through the command room. Who are those idiots, and such could be clearly heard even through the glass.

Seeing the video feed, Miyuki gasped.

One of the three was none other than her brother.

She knew without having to ask. Without having to check the ID signal. Even though his face was hidden behind a visor, she could tell simply from his size.

The operators were frantically repeating into their communicators requests for evacuation. An officer wearing the rank insignia of Major was desperately calling for reinforcements from a base somewhere probably Kyushu to come help them.

Miyuki knew that Sakurai, just by watching her clench her teeth as she stared at that scene understood what she wanted to do, what she wanted to say, and in knowing so took her hand.

She thought that was pathetic.

Even though she was just 12, she was unable to form the words she truly wanted to speak. The words go help my brother, words which would have come naturally to any normal selfish person.

Sakurai did not know why Tatsuya had remained in that place. However, she could hazard a guess.

He probably had a way to deal with that fleet of approaching enemy ships.

Under normal circumstances that would be impossible, but for him, a magician who was a direct descendant of the Yotsuba and who excelled in certain areas, it was suddenly not unthinkable.

Because even though he could not use normal magic, he had shown that he was capable of insane feats such as magic capable of wholly restoring the human body

although that was not true magic according to Miya and demonstrated it upon Sakurai herself.

It was indisputable however that as a magician he was sorely lacking. If he were to simply become a combat magician as he was now, he would never be able to overcome barriers that people normally took for granted.

Not to mention the bombs and bullets he had erased earlier, whether individually or separately, had all needed to be identified first and evidently pushed him to his limits just disabling the enemy attacks. She didnt know how, and did indeed consider it an amazing skill, but if Tatsuya did have a magic capable of reaching warships dozens of kilometres away and if he did, that would cross into the realm of Strategic class magic in the process of casting, he would not be able to protect himself in the same way as before.

"Madam, I have a request."

The moment she thought that, without herself being aware of it, those words were already tumbling from her lips.

"What is it?"

Despite the suddenness of it all, Miyas voice contained not a hint of surprise.

Her tone suggested it was almost as if she already knew what Sakurais request was.

"Id like to go to Tatsuya-kun."

Until a moment ago Miyuki had been glued to the screen; yet at this she forcefully wrenched her head around.

Her eyes, staring at Sakurai, were wide open.

"That is to say you wish to go, right now, over there?" Miyas voice retained its calm tone.

Her ability was meant to entail mental interference, not mind reading.

Could it be thatSakurai shook such convenient useless thoughts out of her head.

"Yes."

"Honami, even though you are meant to be my guardian?"

Within that was the implication, and yet you intend to leave me?. At Miyas question, Sakurai had no answer.

"Im"

"Well, I suppose its fine."

Sakurai had been about to say Im sorry, an apology which could have been taken either way, yet before that Miya nodded.

"If those enemy ships are left to be, theres no telling how much longer this base will remain safe. Tatsuya intends to try do something about them, so go help him."

"Huh?"

That exclamation was reflexive.

Somehow, it seemed Miya knew what it was Tatsuya was about to attempt. Then again, it might be only natural considering she was his mother.

"Whilst its possible in theory its never been done in practice, yet hes thought of it anyway. His intelligence is one of his strong points after all."

However you looked at it, those were words of praise.

In spite of everything, a mother will still always be capable of boasting in her child, Sakurai thought.

"Thank you."

Id like to believe so, she thought, as she bowed politely.

In the previous world war which had spanned two decades, the primary armament of ships had shifted from missiles to Fleming launchers. (Initially these had been called railguns, but as their size increased their names changed.)

Modern shelling then is a continuous bombardment from these Fleming launchers. The rate of fire is overwhelmingly superior to that of gunpowder based weapons, and since theres no need to include propellant or propulsion systems they have far more destructive capacity than missiles. However, their range was no better than, or in some cases inferior to, that of traditional naval guns.

Fleming launchers emphasize rate of fire, and the recoil from extending their range whilst attempting to maintain that rate would lead to significant adverse effects on the hull which cannot be ignored.

Thus the ground attack power of a state-of-the-art modern warship is said to be over 10 times more effective than that of ships a century ago. Within the range of Fleming launchers, even a single ship can turn entire districts into a sea of flames.

The launchers are effective not only against urban areas, but also fortifications. If the two cruisers began raining fire, the average magician wouldnt stand a chance.

Tatsuya knew it was a race against time. He took the magazine out from the range expanding armament device, that large sniper rifle with the built-in specialized CAD, and quickly began ejecting the bullets.

He clasped the bullets in his hands one by one, as if praying, then reloaded them back into the magazine.

Looking on, Kazama and Sanada had no idea what he was doing. They could faintly feel that powerful magic was at work, but as to exactly what techniques were being applied, they could not begin to guess.

It wouldnt just have been them who were stumped. If any magician could see through what Tatsuya was doing at this moment, they would be truly exceptional in every sense of the word.

What Tatsuya was doing was decomposing each bullet, then recreating it anew.

By the time he had completed that procedure with each bullet, two minutes had passed.

"Time until enemy ships come within range: ten minutes."

As Tatsuya finished up the preparations on the armament device, Sanada informed him of the grace period left.

"The ships are almost 30 kilometres west off the coastcan it reach?"

"Well just have to see."

That was the only answer Tatsuya had to Sanadas question as he set the armament devices elevation to 45 degrees.

Wind aside, that was the greatest range it would be possible to achieve. In that position, Tatsuya activated the sequence.

From the muzzle, a pipe shaped virtual area began to radiate outwards.

This was the magic zone which would accelerate any object passing through.

Despite the short time of the areas creation, Sanada nodded with satisfaction at the size the area had expanded to.

The longer the length of the virtual area the longer the acceleration effect would be applied, and the greater the range extension. With the length it had now reached, 30 km might just be within their grasp.

But that was not the only magic Tatsuya applied.

Beyond the acceleration magic zone, yet another virtual area was taking shape. "What in the!?"

The acceleration magic zone was comprised of three action processes. The reduction in inertial mass of anything entering the area.

An increase in speed.

Then the undoing of the initial process.

Just how far and how fast the first step could be achieved was dependent on the magician.

The area Tatsuya was applying now followed the same principles.

However this time the initial change in inertial mass was set to positive, the speed magnification remained the same, and the process to restore inertial mass had been disabled.

In other words the region Tatsuya added had taken the acceleration magic Sanada designed and completely rearranged it into a region for increasing inertial mass instead.

All on the fly.

"I cant believe it"

Sanadas murmur was drowned out by the boom of the sniper rifle.

Tatsuyas eyes seemed to chase that supersonic bullet which should never have been seen.

At length he shook his head, disappointed. "Its no good. It could only reach 20 km."

Just how had he followed its trajectory?

While he sounded indifferent, he must have been disappointed deep down. Perhaps he was berating himself for his own weakness.

"We can only wait for them to come within 20 km." Hearing that, Sanada paled.

"But by then, well be within range of enemy fire as well!"

The effective range of cruiser mounted Fleming launchers is somewhere around

15-20 km. A launchers range is always dependent upon just how well the ship can handle the recoil, meaning range is limited by the size and shape of the ship; regardless of differences in manufacturer, range can almost always be predicted just by the class of ship.

20 km and under would definitely fall within range.

"I know. Both of you, please head back to the base. From here, I can handle things by myself."

"Dont say such foolish things! Youre coming as well."

This was the place the enemy had selected as a bridgehead, in other words; it was where the conflict would be decided.

It was almost certain the enemy would launch the decisive attack here.

If one couldnt engage the enemy ships from beyond their range, once a shootout began the chances of survival here approached nil.

"If the enemy ships are not brought down, the base would be in danger." Along with his family, still inside.

"Then at the least, move from here."

Both of them understood perfectly well what it was Tatsuya was concerned about, what it was he wanted to protect.

"No good. Theres no more time to look for another vantage point." However he rejected Sanadas proposal, for reasons known only to himself. "Could we possibly intercept?"

Listening silently in to the conversation between the two until now, Kazama spoke up in a dejected tone.

"Impossible."

The answer was just as expected, and nothing more. "Then, we will remain here."

What was unexpected was the reply.

To Tatsuya, Kazamas response just now was inconceivable. "If I fail, you would become collateral damage."

"There is no plan which is without fail, and there is no battlefield without the danger of death. While victory and defeat may be decided by tacticians, living and dying will always be decided by soldiers."

Calmly, without hubris, Kazama said so.

That famous passage, from the Hagakure, was all that was needed to be said.

Offshore, plumes of water erupted. The enemy was ranging their guns.

With nothing left to say Tatsuya, Kazama, and Sanada remained silent. The exact position of the enemy was being transmitted into Tatsuyas visor.

Wind speed, direction, and other factors which would affect shots scrolled by in strings of numbers.

Tatsuya positioned the armament device.

A stance for trajectory prioritising distance, and leaving hits to lucky chance. Allowing for bullet drop and flight time, the enemy was already within range.

Tatsuya triggered the virtual magic areas, and then pulled the trigger four times in succession.

Each time he moved the muzzle slightly, compensating for error due to the ever shifting wind.

In the first place, this had been a shot without much hope. However much chance favoured them, the odds would still fall upon the enemy at best. He had done this willingly with that knowledge from the beginning.

Tatsuya followed the flight of the four bullets in his head.

To be precise his awareness, through the processing of his subconscious, chased the data of the bullets in the dimension of information.

By his own hands, using the magic he alone could wield, he had decomposed then rebuilt the bullets.

However far away they flew, he would not lose sight of their information structure.

Of the four shots he had fired, Tatsuya received the information that one of the bullets had fallen into the centre of the enemy fleet.

Tatsuya tracked the exact position of that bullet with everything he had.

Kazama and Sanada, aware that Tatsuya was focusing on some large scale magic distanced themselves so as to not disturb his concentration.

All that was left for them to do was what they could with their own magic. The enemy had already found their range.

The next salvo then, was right on target.

Firing from a lower ballistic trajectory than Tatsuya had, their fire arrived before Tatsuyas.

As a user of Ancient magic, Kazamas ability to interfere with objective structures was not high. Rather, it was low.

And Sanada, who technically wasnt even a magician but rather a magic engineer, had high objective interference yet lacked speed.

At this rate, before Tatsuya could destroy the enemy fleet, this place would be "Ill cover you!"

As ordinance fell like rain, a figure burst through speeding in on a motorbike.

The rider, clad in a female Armoured Suit, flung away the bike as blazing Psion light erupted from her body.

Concentrating as he was on his magic a corner of Tatsuyas heart felt surprise at hearing that voice, yet gladness.

Surprise that Sakurai had left his mother.

And gladness because he knew that under her mighty shield, he could focus on his own magic without fear.

Augmented Magician, Sakura series.

Their characteristic was defensive magic against powerful objective and heat based attacks.

While they could not use highly technical multi-spectrum magic such as the Juumonjis Phalanx, in the single field of defense against objective heat based attacks they were unrivaled in Japan.

And amongst them, Sakurai Honami showed exceedingly gifted performance.

It was because of that she was chosen to protect the one precious magician who alone was capable of mental structure interference magic, Yotsuba Miya.

The shells, aimed dead on, instead dropped into the sea. Not a single shot was able to reach land anymore.

A magic which crippled momentum was being invoked in rapid succession several hundred metres offshore.

As he watched that spectacle with his naked eyes, his minds eye roving over the sky found the bullet in the midst of the enemy fleet.

Tatsuya stretched out his right hand towards the west, and forcibly unclenched his palm.

The bullet broke down into energy.

In that moment, the mass conversion magic Material Burst was used in anger for the first time.

Beyond the horizon, a flash ignited.

The overcast sky reflected dazzling light.

Although sunset was yet far off, a shining star blazed on the Western sea.

A roar reverberated. There would be none here who mistook it for the sound of thunder.

With no staggering, all the fuel and explosives on board the ships had ignited as one.

The shelling ceased.

An eerie rumbling approached. "Tsunami! Take cover!"

As he shouted, Kazama picked up Sakurai, who had suddenly collapsed powerless upon the ground, and began running.

Sanada, now upon the bike, swerved to line up beside him. Tatsuya sat upon the tandem seat.

Still running and carrying Sakurai, Kazama leapt.

With theatrical acrobatics, he came to stand upon the handlebars. Rather, this went far beyond mere acrobatics.

It couldnt be said that military bikes lacked horsepower, as the clearly overloaded bike valiantly powered on.

As storms raged and waves lashed across the horizon, Tatsuya knelt at the top of a hill.

Before him lay the exhausted figure of Sakurai.

Tatsuyas face, with the helmet removed, was unmistakably filled with grief. "Its alright, Tatsuya-kun. This is life after all."

Helpless in the face of life which could not be saved, crushed by emotions that he should have lost; to him Sakurai extended a weak, yet serene smile.

"Its not your fault. For Augmented magicians like us, its only natural that our life would run out sometime."

Thats wrong, Tatsuya wanted to scream.

While it was true that Augmented magicians had unstable lifespans compared to the general public, her current condition was without a doubt due to the sheer stress of using large quantities of magic continuously over such a short period of time. Even for a Sakura series, the strain of denying the nonstop volley of so many guns was too much to bear.

However, Sakurai would not want him to say that. Knowing so, he could only grit his teeth.

"Truly, its not your fault. From birth it was my role to be a shield, and its simply that today that role ends."

But it seemed that Sakurai could tell Tatsuyas thoughts.

"That is something that I decided, not because I was ordered, but of my own free will."

Tatsuya frantically tried using Regrowth, but soon realised it was futile.

Even though he could rewind material matter, his power was helpless to turn back the clock of life.

"Wont you let go?"

Sakurai murmured to Tatsuya in a sweet voice.

"I, who never once had the chance to freely choose in my life, am finally free to choose how I die. I wont let this chance pass. I can finally choose to die not as a man-made tool, but as a person."

Never in his dreams had Tatsuya thought Sakurai carried such darkness in her heart.

But unexpectedly even to him, there was no surprise. "So, wont you let me go?"

At Sakurais words, Tatsuya could only nod silently. With a look of peace, Sakurai closed her eyes. Gradually, she stopped breathing.

Next to them, Sanada began to chant sutras. Kazama placed a hand on Tatsuyas shoulder. While carrying that hand, Tatsuya stood up. There were no tears in his eyes.

Curiously, the feelings of sorrow had lifted from Tatsuyas heart.

Hearing Sakurai Honamis last words, he was convinced there was no need to grieve.

Tatsuya at that time did not know that it was actually possible to convince grief away, and that it would be the one time he would do so.

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