July 18, 15:00 Japanese time and July 17 19:00 local time. The port of the Pearl &
Hermes military base, located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, included a U.S. Navy transport ship.
This event in itself was not something special and deserving of special mention. There
was nothing strange about the fact that a crowd of armed soldiers came ashore from this ship. Here, after all, there was a supply base for the Navy of the USNA. Of course, when landing on shore for rest, soldiers took personal weapons with them.
Unusual in this situation was that the faces of these soldiers were very tense, as if they
were landing on enemy territory. Hiding their steps and breathing, they headed not to the main building of the base, but to another ship in the port.
Their goal was a fully submersible Coral transport vessel moored in the port. It was on
this ship that Minoru and Minami climbed into the sea near Yokosuki. And remained there until now.
There were no windows in the Coral cabins. Unlike civilian passenger ships, the design
of warships usually involves a small number of windows, because they are a weak point. And Coral can actually be considered a submarine, and its interior is completely isolated from the external environment. Therefore, Minami, sitting in the cabin allotted to her, did not even know that sunset would soon be outside.
Light and sound were blocked, but there was something that was still transmitted
through this isolation. She caught the sixth sense that she was approaching a kind of "foul smelling atmosphere."
She convinced herself that the "smell of gunpowder" at a military base is normal. But she still did not leave a bad feeling.
The doorbell rang faintly in the cabin. Minami walked quickly to the airtight door and
unlocked it.
They pulled the door out of the corridor.
“May I come in?”
As expected, Minoru came.
- Yes, please.
Minami took a step back and invited Minoru to the cabin.
Minoru squeezed into Minami's cabin through a slightly ajar door and locked it behind
him.
“Something strange is happening outside.” A detachment of several dozen soldiers is
sent towards this ship.
Minami nodded back. Minoru’s words reminded her of what she was just thinking, and
her thoughts switched from “this cannot be” to “as I thought.”
- Raymond and Lieutenant Spica also do not understand the situation. I don’t think that
the American military will send weapons at each other, but I think that it’s better for you and I to stick together.
Minami nodded once more, now with a much more intense face than before.
She did not think that it was wrong. On the contrary, she agreed with the idea that "it is
better to stick together."
During the attack on Miyakijima, on the Midway transport ship there was an attack
squad consisting of more than 20 Parasites, and on the Coral, there were only three Parasites among the crew and passengers: Minoru, Raymond and Spica. The crew was selected by order from the Pentagon from the faction for a tough course towards Japan.
It was ordered to support only one group of Parasites, showing a hostile attitude
towards Japan.
But for military bureaucrats who have a physiological and religious hatred of the
Parasites, there is no difference between the terms "cooperate with the Parasites" and "obey the Parasites." And the Coral crew in this case is not “the same American soldiers”, but “minions of the demons devouring our Motherland”.
It’s impossible to even direct weapons at just “compatriots”, and you can already shoot
at “demon minions” without hesitation. Moreover, this was an order from the commander. About this psychological state and such thoughts were now among the soldiers who were ordered to attack the Coral.
Coral was designed for underwater movement, but during mooring at a port, about a
quarter of its hull protrudes above sea level. However, unlike conventional submarines, it had a large hatch for loading or unloading cargo. That is, there was no such inconvenience inherent in submarines when at the same time only one person can enter or leave.
More than 60 soldiers approached this cargo hatch, silently made a huge hole in it, and
then surged into the ship.
Coral's crew was shocked by this outrage.
The crew is about 120 people. This is almost double that of soldiers breaking on board.
Although they had a numerical superiority, the attacking and defending sides were very
different in terms of readiness. Coral's crew were helpless in the face of a surprise attack and were killed one by one.
The principle of reproduction of parasites was unknown. Last winter, the Parasites were
unable to increase the number of their counterparts, neither in America nor in Japan.
However, this year, according to currently available data, more than 50 people became
Parasites not as a result of an experiment with a micro black hole, but as a result of the so-called secondary infection - by coming into contact with existing Parasites.
Coral's crew spent about three days in a closed environment with the Parasites. They
were shot only because there were suspicions that they were "infected." Since the principle of "infection" is unknown, it is likely that all crew members are converted to Parasites. The parasite cannot be "cured", therefore, in order to prevent the spread of "infection", "patients" should be "disposed of".... Such were the arguments of one radical conservative faction from the Ministry of Defense of the USNA.
However, in the case when it is necessary to "get rid" of the entire crew completely, the least risk will be if the ship is sunk by explosives from the outside, and not storm it. The crew is not unarmed. Possible losses in the assault squad as a result of a counterattack cannot be ignored.
Such an opinion was expressed shortly before the start of this surprise attack. If it was possible to execute "divine justice" without any sacrifice, then you would not have to come up with something like that, and you would not have to choose the method of this "divine justice".
The option to destroy the ship was rejected, as there was no certainty that this would kill the Parasites. Even if we talk about ordinary magicians, it is not known whether the sinking of the ship on which they are will kill them. And in the case of Parasites - demons - they may not be destroyed, even if they die.
Therefore, the assault squad was ordered to shoot everyone with "silver-crystal bullets."
The name "silver-crystal bullets" did not mean that they were made of "silver crystal."
These bullets were made of a sharpened crystal core coated with pure 999 silver with the addition of a tiny fraction of nickel. It was an anti-demonic weapon used mainly by Protestant exorcists, who were active in the former USA.
Unlike Catholics, Protestants traditionally did not have magical combat organizations.
However, the need for exorcists existed all over the world even before the era when the existence of magic was revealed. In the former United States, one Protestant organization took advantage of the poverty of the traditions of local exorcists and created a culture-optimized firearm with anti-demonic weapons.
Unfortunately, the attitude of the exorcists towards the Stars is not very friendly, because the Stars often take to themselves promising young magicians, on whom the organizations of exorcists have already laid their eyes. The supply was unable to get these bullets for Lina during the first Parasite incident. However, this time, for the sake of eradicating the Parasites that are eating away the Stars from within, the exorcist organizations agreed to cooperate with the conservative faction.
However, it was not yet known whether silver-crystal bullets were effective against Parasites.
The entire detachment defended three men in black robes walking in the tail. One of them was middle-aged, and the other two were young. Palatines hung on their neck with crosses embroidered on them, and in their left hands each of them held a large
cross 60 centimeters high. These were the same "exorcists" - magicians of ancient magic, regular army priests and pastors.
They were not high-level exorcists and did not possess high magical attack power. But
their task was not to kill the Parasites with magic. To fulfill the task entrusted to them, these three exorcists began to pray, raising the crosses in front of them.
Vibrations from the blow that struck a hole in the cargo hatch reached the Minami
cabin.
Minoru rounded his eyes at first, but then immediately slightly covered them. Then he
frowned, still remaining with his eyes half closed.
- Block...?
Opening his eyes, Minoru saw Minami watching him with a restless look.
Minoru was puzzled for a moment whether he should explain to Minami the current
unusual situation they were in, and came to the conclusion that if you did not say anything, it would cause more concern.
“... A mental connection with Raymond and Lieutenant Spica does not work.”
- Blocked?
Minoru has not yet explained to Minami the details of the Parasite's abilities. She did
not know about the difference between telepathy and the mental connection of the Parasites, therefore, she was not particularly surprised that something interfered with the "common thoughts" of the Parasites. Her train of thought was that if the activation of magic could be impeded by “Hindrances,” then mental communication could also be interrupted by something.
However, the divided thoughts of Parasites and telepathy differ fundamentally. Each
Parasite has an individual consciousness, but at the same time they all share one common consciousness. The mental communication of Parasites is like a dialogue with oneself, if you look at it from the point of view that all this happens inside one single consciousness. Even if somewhere between separate consciousnesses some kind of blocking mental waves are emitted, this should not interfere with communication between fellow parasites. This will become possible only if it is possible to intervene immediately in the entire consciousness shared by all Parasites. In a single consciousness, covering all representatives of the species "Parasite".
If it turns out that it is still possible to do this, it will mean that it is also quite possible to interfere with the magical abilities of the Parasites themselves and reduce their strength.
“Minami-san, don't leave me.”
Minoru stood in front of the door, closing Minami's back.
Seeing that Minoru was unusually tense, Minami responded with a short "good."
Strong tension was also visible on her face.
No sound was heard from the other side through the completely soundproofed walls.
Outside, only a depressing atmosphere was transmitted inside, from which tension gradually increased.
Minoru was not only guarding the door. He also tried to get in touch with Raymond and Spica, and at the same time he tried to "look" to find out what was going on. However, using Eyes of Spirits, he could only read vague information.
"A certain spell works here that impedes the mental processes of the Parasites... and indeed any non-human creatures...?"
This was probably the work of the magician of ancient magic, specializing in the expulsion of all non-human beings hostile to people, such as evil spirits and ghosts. In the current situation, when the mental connection does not work, only such an option came to his mind.
Magic and the “look” were not completely sealed. He was able to understand that there were murders outside, and was able to read information that three magicians prevented his magic.
"... Do you need to deal with them first?" - Asked himself Minoru. Even if they simply block magic, it means that they interfere with Minoru's consciousness, in other words, into himself. This is an obvious act of aggression.
“You won’t take my life. But don’t worry, I won’t take yours either,” Minoru mentally told himself to Minoru and decided to strike back.
In a blurred field of vision, he aimed "sight" at the magicians of ancient magic,
preventing him from using magic.
It didn’t turn out as smoothly as I wanted. To overcome the anti-demonic blocking spell,
Minoru had to concentrate his mind as much as he had never done before. Because of this, his attention deviated from the surroundings. Distracted by a counterattack at a long distance, he did not notice what was happening very close by.
To attack, Minoru chose Spark magic. It was the simplest spell from the magic of the
release system, which he knew best. Usually a small amount of air is ionized using this magic, however, Minoru has forcibly displaced electrons not from the air, but from the clothes of enemy magicians.
Created at zero distance, an electrical discharge spread across the skin of enemy
magicians.
The success of neutralizing enemies with electric discharge was confirmed by Minoru
by the disappearance of interference in his mind.
Having regained clarity of consciousness, Minoru looked around with “Eyes of Spirits”
to find out what was happening around him.
"...!"
- Minoru-sama!
He realized this at about the same moment that Minami's warning reached his ears.
The door of the cabin, which, in theory, was locked, swung open. It had a simple nonmagnetic lock with a metal deadbolt. That is why this hermetic door was almost
impossible to open from the outside. The assumption that the bolt was shifted by psychokinesis came to mind only later, when the situation was resolved.
And now, six gun barrels were looking at Minoru and Minami. Minoru activated Iskra
with the power of thought. But this did not happen at the same time that Minoru recognized the soldiers. Even Parasites must follow a system called "magic" and cannot use it unknowingly. Constructing a sequence of magic is a process that occurs in the field of the subconscious, but the user must be aware of the magic that he is using.
Parasites do not need not only CAD, but also activation sequences, but even they have
time from recognition of the enemy to activation of magic is not zero.
After Minoru recognized the soldier with the weapon, it took him half a second to
decide to use the Spark.
During this time, the soldiers have already managed to pull the trigger.
Bullets flew through ionized air.
Six soldiers fell to the floor, struck by electric shock.
And the bullets fired from six barrels...
They were stopped by an anti-object shield deployed by Minami.
There is an opinion that there is nothing easier and faster than thoughts, but a person’s
reaction can sometimes be even faster than thinking. Exactly at the very moment when the enemies tried to enter the cabin, hardened by the rigorous training of the battle magician, Minami reflexively pressed the desired combination of buttons on the CAD and activated the barrier magic.
Bullets that lost kinetic energy fell to the floor.
Minami collapsed exhaustively to her knees.
- Minami-san! How are you!?
Instead of the Minami barrier, which lost its effectiveness, Minoru built a powerful anti object, heat-resistant and electromagnetic-resistant shield. Even light did not penetrate
inside this shield, so Minoru created a light source in the form of a weak plasma, which shone, but did not burn. Minoru dropped to one knee next to Minami and held her hand at the shoulder.
At first he reached out to shake her shoulder, but at the last moment he thought better
of it.
Minami's smile appeared on her face, distorted by pain.
- I'm fine.
Minami's intermittent voice said that she, on the contrary, was far from okay.
“Everything... happened... too... suddenly.” I... just... didn't... manage... to adjust...
power.
- Enough! Say nothing more!
Minoru unconsciously hugged Minami with both hands.
His face was as pale as that of Minami.
Minoru once again remembered that using magic shortens Minami's lifespan.
He abducted her precisely for this reason.
He did not want Minami to die, so he abandoned his humanity himself and suggested
that Minami do the same.
And despite all this...
Due to his carelessness...
He admitted that Minami had to use magic.
Now he was not interested in the attacks of the newly arrived enemies, nor in
Raymond's mental connection. He rejected all this and hugged Minami tightly.
The battle ended after 20 minutes.
After Minoru neutralized the exorcists, this allowed Zoe Spica to demonstrate her true
fighting abilities. And she, after all, belonged to the class of the First stellar magnitude - the highest in "Stars", the strongest division of magicians in the USNA. She alone neutralized almost half of the assault squad.
When the fanatical commander was killed, the remaining half of the enemies lost their
desire to continue the battle. The Coral crew also did not begin to avenge the dead comrades, and accepted the surrender of the enemy, so in the end the battle did not end with the total destruction of one of the parties.
However.
Minoru and Minami received help only an hour after the end of the battle.
-... to Minoru. How is your girlfriend?
- The pain has passed, and she is sleeping peacefully. The medicine she was given
seems to work.
Immediately after the battle was over, the ban on disembarking the Coral crew on
shore was lifted. Minoru was also allowed to get off the ship, and Minami was transferred to the medical center of the base. Minoru spent some time near Minami, and now sat on the pier and looked at the evening sea.
- I see...
Raymond said only that, and could not pick up the following words.
-... It's my fault.
Minoru sat with his arms around his knees and his head bowed.
“I should not have allowed her to use magic...”
“No... it's not your fault.” Who would have thought that at an American base, American
soldiers would attack each other... this is impossible to predict.
“Lieutenant Spica has already apologized for this.” "We will do everything in our power
to cure Minami-san, who suffered from the internal conflict of our country," she said.
Minoru's face showed a faint, self-deprecating smile.
- But I only know that there is only one way to cure her...
- So...!
Raymond raised his voice.
“In such a situation, it's time to stop being so indecisive!” Minoru, you can do it!
Minoru raised his head and looked into the eyes of Raymond standing next to him.
Raymond involuntarily tensed, and his breath caught.
In Minoru's eyes, he saw a feeling of helplessness bordering on despair.
- I will not force. Until she herself desires, she will not be the same as us.
- But after all... just you...!
- I promised. That I will not force. - Mumbled to Minoru in a voice like that of an old
man who had lost the desire to continue living.
Raymond could only stand silently, not knowing what to answer.
◊ ◊ ◊
July 18, 20:55.
Leaving Miyuki at home, and Lina with her as a guard, Tatsuya alone visited the Kyūji
Temple.
And he did not suddenly rush in there without an invitation. Tatsuya had already been
there today at 10 a.m. and asked Yakumo to arrange a meeting with Toudou Aoba. The two fought seriously almost a week ago, but in the end they parted as if nothing had happened. At about noon, Yakumo called Tatsuya home and said that the meeting was scheduled for 9 pm today.
Apprentice Yakumo led Tatsuya to the far side room. He waited there for about five
minutes. Exactly at 21:00 Yakumo brought Toudou Aoba, and he took the main place *.
[They say "at the head of the table", but the Japanese are sitting on the floor, and the
"main place" is about the same, only without a table...]
“I sincerely apologize for inviting you today.”
“Forget the greetings.” Yotsuba Tatsuya, raise your head.
Tatsuya obediently raised his head bowed. Despite the middle of summer, Toudou wore
a high-quality suit similar to the one he had in their previous meeting.
“It seems like today you want to ask me for something.” Do not be shy, speak.
- Thank you, I will take advantage of your proposal and immediately get down to
business. My question is also related to your Excellency's obligation to be a deterrent.
Could you arrange for me the possibility of using military force legally even if I leave the 1-0-1 brigade and lose the status of special officer?
Truly unashamed, Tatsuya immediately voiced his request to Toudou.
Toudou did not get angry, but, on the contrary, grinned with interest.
“And I thought the question would be about Wyatt Curtis’s request.”
“It seems to me that it would be better if the head of the family talks to you on this
issue, and not me.”
- Hm...
Toudou was still looking at Tatsuya with a grin.
“Yes, she did consult me.” And with regards to the matter of requesting cooperation
from Asha Chandrasekhar, too.
“So you are already in the know?” - Tatsuya countered Toudou's provocation with an
indifferent face.
- Good.
Toudou again did not consider Tatsuya's behavior a problem.
- If your power cannot be used freely, then this will weaken state defense.
Toudou nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.
- My authority in the modern world does not manifest itself so openly. It will be difficult
for me to officially grant such special privileges to one person. However...
Toudou removed his hands from his chest.
“... I can arrange that after something that has actually happened, you will not be
accused of a crime.”
“May I ask you this?”
- You can.
Tatsuya bowed low, his forehead touching the tatami.
“But why are you at odds with Saeki?” Toudou asked in a teasing tone, looking down at
Tatsuya's back.
“Her Excellency Saeki does not seem to like the fact that our family harbors Angelina
Kudou Shields.” - Rising, Tatsuya answered.
“Angie Sirius is hiding you, not the Yotsuba family.”
- I AM...
At that moment, Tatsuya again used the universal self instead of the formal one.
“... I think she will no longer be Angie Sirius.”
- Wow.
- Heh.
Not only Toudou, but even Yakumo, who was silent before that, gave a voice.
- Not “I hope”, but “I think”...? - Grinning, I asked Tatsuya Yakumo.
- Yes. It will be so regardless of my intentions.
- Ha ha. I hope it will be so.
Yakumo was still laughing, but Toudou had regained his serious face.
- After Kudou’s death, Saeki was left with an unpleasant emotional aftertaste. This
probably also affected.
An expression flashed across Tatsuya's face, showing that this was a surprise to him. He
suggested that Saeki was only calculating in terms of diplomatic gain, but it seemed like digging a lot deeper in this case.
“However, breaking the relationship between you and Saeki will be beneficial for our
country.” Your power should not be placed under the control of just one military officer.
Tatsuya did not know how to react to this, so he decided to just make a polite, light
bow.
- I understand the situation.
It seems that Toudou did not care about the reaction of the interlocutor.
- As I said earlier, you can leave a question for me about your right to be a participant in
the hostilities. And you will protect our country in the right way at the moment when you decide that you are the one who needs it.
“As you order.”
Tatsuya bowed his forehead to the floor again.
From above, Toudou's words were heard again.
“You can accept Wyatt Curtis’s offer.” Politicians and bureaucrats will not like this, but
the release of Benjamin Lowes from prison is well suited to demonstrate your strength to everyone. However, the complete destruction of Midway Prison is ruled out.
Exceeding the dose of the drug turns it into a poison.
Obviously, Toudou kept in mind the need for military containment of the United States
Army. Almost certainly, he was very unhappy with the attack on Miyakijima.
Thinking about this, Tatsuya, who continued to sit forehead on the floor, replied:
- I understood you.
“During the salvation of Sakurai Minami, you don’t have to think about the damage that
you will inflict on the American army until it is very big.” The complete erasure of the Pearl & Hermes base from the face of the earth, nevertheless, will be unnecessary, but I do not mind the damage caused by the sinking of one or two aircraft carriers.
- I would like to finish everything as quietly and peacefully as possible.
“That will do too.” But I have one condition.... you can raise your head.
- What? Tatsuya said and straightened up slowly.
Toudou was not important, but immediately voiced his condition.
“Don't bring Kudou Minoru back to the country.”
“Do you mean that you can not kill him?”
That evening, Tatsuya heard from Yakumo that Toudou and his "colleagues" are prone to allergic reactions to all inhuman evil spirits. Hearing about the "condition", he
expected that he would be required to destroy the Parasites.
- This is unnecessary. What is happening in America must be settled by the Americans.
- I understood you.
Tatsuya realized that for Toudou it was enough that demonic creatures simply did not
exist in Japan.
Minoru's abilities were also very valuable, but for Tatsuya, returning Minami was a
higher priority. And he could not go against the conditions set by Toudou.
“I will also arrange for you to leave the country.” You don’t want to worry about any
tedious accusations of secretly leaving the country?
-... Thank you.
Tatsuya did not expect Toudou to show such zeal for cooperation.
If he leaves the self-defense forces, then there really is a chance that he will be much
more severely blamed for illegal actions that had previously been turned a blind eye.
And his current business is primarily a secret exit from the country. But Tatsuya was
ready for such an inevitable risk.
- Yakumo.
Toudou turned to Yakumo and turned to him.
“Tatsuya-kun, here you go.”
Yakumo moved closer to Tatsuya and took a flat dark blue bundle from his pocket.
Having received this bundle in his hands, Tatsuya with a glance asked Yakumo whether
it could be opened.
- You can open and see. - said Toudou.
- Good.
Inside the bundle of dark blue silk was an official passport with a seal authorizing exit
from the country.
The reason for leaving indicated in the passport was cooperation with the USNA in the
field of technology. That is, Tatsuya allegedly temporarily went to the USNA as a technical specialist in magical engineering.
Tatsuya could not hide his surprise. Seeing his face, Toudou and Yakumo smiled with
satisfaction.
“That was suggested by Yakumo.” You can take this as an apology for the fact that he
recently interfered with you.
- Although I disturbed you not at my discretion... Well, that was, that was.
Regardless of the intervention and apology for him, regardless of the details of this act
and its reasons, for Tatsuya it was definitely a useful thing.
Tatsuya politely bowed in gratitude for the help.
