From the shadows, Tooya observed the trailer. One of the six Maximilian Devices employees was approached by another—Lina, he quickly recognized. A classmate, always a topic, she seemed cautious but unaware of the woman's danger. Tooya sighed inwardly.
(She hasn't noticed the parasite fusion... Not surprising.)
Tooya barely understood his own abilities, gained in a crisis like a desperate burst of strength. Still, it heightened his vigilance.
Erika intervened, followed by Mikihiko's barrier spell. Leo, Mikihiko, and Mizuki appeared. Erika's swift blade pierced the woman Lina called "Mia."
Lina was on her communicator, words inaudible but confirming the woman—Mikaela—as the vampire.
(Ruthless... but not dead.)
"Tooya, status?" Tatsuya asked.
"Tatsuya, Miyuki. As you see."
Tooya's grim expression signaled no optimism. Tatsuya understood best; Miyuki sensed Mikaela's unwavering psion waves.
As proof, the chest wound Erika inflicted healed instantly.
"Yugen's not here..." Miyuki noted.
"He's guarding against vampire allies. We handle this alone," Tatsuya replied.
"Got it... Tatsuya, Miyuki, keep my next move secret," Tooya said.
"...Sure. Miyuki, can you restrain her?"
"As you wish, Brother."
Tooya's intent unclear, Tatsuya trusted him. Miyuki aimed her CAD at Mikaela.
"—'Zero Niflheim,' activate."
Miyuki's spell formed a two-meter ice pillar around Mikaela. Tooya followed, casting his unique magic: "formless freezing flame."
"Nice, Miyuki—'Niflheim Flare.'"
'Niflheim Flare,' Tooya's mental interference magic, burned or froze spirits via psions—a mental "heat manipulation." During the Sado invasion four years ago, it caused "trauma-less corpses," identifying the true culprit.
Tooya froze Mikaela's human spirit, burning the parasite. A mental 'Inferno,' Tatsuya grasped Tooya's secrecy. Bound by promise, he stayed silent.
"Not confident it worked... Regroup?" Tooya asked.
"Both of you, shields!" Tatsuya ordered.
Tooya and Miyuki raised psion shields. The ice pillar shattered in dazzling light; Mikaela collapsed, but the "demonic" presence vanished.
"...Miyuki, anything?" Tatsuya asked.
"Nothing. It might've escaped..." she replied, shaking her head.
If Miyuki couldn't sense it, high-level concealment—or worse. Tatsuya deemed it inconclusive.
"We lack parasite combat experience," Tooya said.
"You and Miyuki did well. Appropriate response," Tatsuya assured.
Yugen, Himeka, and Sana patrolled the perimeter. Evading them was tough unless deliberate. Tatsuya hid Miyuki's true power and Tooya's circumstances.
"Let's keep this quiet. Ten Masters have it rough," Tatsuya said.
"...Got it. Complex, considering my sister's feelings," Tooya replied, wryly.
Tooya's sister, Rokuzuka head Atsuko, admired Maya fanatically. Tatsuya's meaning dawned on Tooya, prompting Miyuki's wry smile.
◇ ◇ ◇
The parasite's disappearance shocked Sana, patrolling nearby. Himeka sighed, eyeing Yugen—Mizuki's 'Crystal Eyes' fooled, only Yugen's "invisible strategic magic" from four years ago fit.
"You helped?" Himeka asked.
"Could've eliminated it, but a desperate suicide attack would be trouble," Yugen replied.
Miyuki's 'Zero Niflheim' and Tooya's 'Niflheim Flare' proved potent anti-parasite magic. To avoid Lina and Celia's interference, Yugen had Himeka and Sana act separately under the pretext of blocking vampire allies—truthful, as it was critical.
Sana returned, threat gone.
"Back... Yugen, you saved that parasite?" Sana asked.
"You're all sharp... I guided it. Unlikely to be found, but Miyuki might grill me," Yugen said.
The weakened parasite shifted to "Pixie." Original and altered events mixed, but it was isolated from others.
Celia might act, so Yugen set a 'Kaleidoscope'-based barrier on the experiment building, detectable only by those sensitive to psions or spirits.
"Time to wrap this up," Yugen said.
Using gravity control, Yugen landed near the trailer. The ice explosion left many, including Lina, rattled. Yugen hoisted Mikaela over his shoulder.
Celia appeared.
"Yugen, what're you doing with Mia?"
"She's a suspect in this chaos. Or does the USNA grant you authority?"
"...That's..."
"Even with surveillance off, bystanders could swarm, worsening things."
Despite external cover, rumors would spread if seen. Celia claiming Mikaela's custody clashed with Japan's laws, prioritized at the school. As "Exelia Kudou Shields" here, revealing "Celia Polaris, Stars' Number Zero" before Tatsuya and others risked USNA military secrets—a major liability.
Yugen, Kagurazaka acting head and Kamikai's first seat, disclosed his status to Tatsuya's group. Lina and Celia learning this had risks but could be leverage.
"So... Tatsuya, Miyuki, Tooya's there, right?"
"Sharp. No spotlight this time," Tatsuya said.
"Peaceful endings are best. Miyuki, Tooya, I'm skipping afternoon classes—explain for me," Yugen said.
"Understood, Yugen. But don't make her fall for you," Miyuki teased.
Her quip dissolved tension. Tatsuya sighed, exhausted. At least Miyuki's jealousy didn't turn the school into an ice castle.
◇ ◇ ◇
The incident left ripples. Allowing a non-human parasite's intrusion was inexcusable. To outsiders, it was a nuisance. The National Magic University, the school's parent, lodged formal protests with the government.
Causalities remained concealed; the government avoided provoking USNA, an ally.
The school's response was procedural. Mikaela Hongou, the suspect, was transferred to a Uesugi-affiliated mental hospital. Her memories, muddled by parasite fusion, required treatment and observation, per the Master Clan Conference and external reports—though free of parasite control.
Yugen used 'Amaterasu Omikami' to heal Mikaela's mind pre-transfer, choosing her timeline cautiously due to Alice's precedent. Unlike last time, when he eradicated the parasite first, he targeted only Mikaela, post-separation.
The impact difference was unclear.
Mikaela, after Yugen explained, wanted to thank Tooya. Her blushing suggested romantic feelings. She spoke of a boy pulling her sunken heart to the surface—matching Tooya's traits. Magic made impossibilities possible, but making someone fall in love screamed Ten Masters lineage... though Yugen couldn't judge.
Erika's group felt unfulfilled but knew they were unprepared for parasites. Miyaba training continued. Tatsuya trained at Kuhoji Temple, inspired by Tooya's 'Niflheim Flare' for "far strikes." Yakumo praised his progress but noted Yugen's swordsmanship superiority, honed under Gouza.
"No helping it," Yugen muttered.
He hadn't intended to kill, but per Chihime's request to study parasite behavior, he killed most hosts using 'Freeze Mist Dispersion,' a prototype magic inverting decomposition heat to minus, freezing atoms—an atomic-level freeze-decomposition spell beyond modern magic. Its effect on spirits was unknown, but Alice said it "damaged them slightly due to Master's influence."
The Pixie-bound parasite was left alone, deemed low-risk for now. If that changed, he'd act.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ripples hit USNA. The embassy considered summoning Angie Sirius for testimony, but Colonel Virginia Balance intervened.
Lina, dour and heavy-footed, entered the embassy. Balance addressed her.
"Reluctant, Major?"
"C-Colonel! My apologies!" Lina saluted, flustered.
"No need—hard not to mind. Let's not talk standing."
Balance, Internal Affairs' number two, was unexpected. Lina saluted rigidly; Balance, smiling slightly, ushered her inside.
The embassy skipped Celia—simple: military and government treated her as a hazardous entity. Calling her with Lina risked her razing the embassy in anger.
Exaggerated, perhaps, but to non-magicians, magicians were terrifying, sentient weapons.
-------------------------------
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