Yugen narrowly averted turning the "farce" into a catastrophic disaster. Acknowledging his role in the escalation, he exhaled, drew "Valkyrie," and activated "Regrowth" on the shattered hilt of Ceria's "Levatein." Instantly restored, the greatsword prompted an immediate reaction from Ceria: a flawless dogeza.
"I'm so sorry, big brother… please don't kill me," she pleaded.
"Get up already," Yugen said. "I can't talk to you like this."
The self-proclaimed strongest mage, "Angie Sirius," outdone by an even greater mage, groveling perfectly. Yugen hadn't demanded this, nor an apology. But Ceria's reaction likely stemmed from witnessing "Regrowth" and deducing he could also use "Decomposition." She wasn't wrong, but Yugen had no intention of obliterating foes recklessly. He urged her to stand.
"You're not really going to kill me, right?" Ceria asked, hesitant.
"Obviously not," Yugen said. "Lina would lose it… and Ken Kudou might storm Japan in a rage."
"Oh, yeah, Grandpa might actually do that," Ceria admitted.
Provoking trouble through her paranoia was annoying, but harming Ceria would create chaos—benefiting only those like Gu Jie or Zhou Gongjin, who wanted Japan weakened. For now, Yugen "disposed" of the Stardust operatives and led Ceria to a nearby rest area, deploying a soundproof barrier for their discussion.
"Your taunts pushed 'Levatein' to the brink, and I share the blame," Yugen said. "But pressuring me or Tatsuya is misdirected."
"About that," Ceria said, "I proposed to the President that we halt the investigation and restart FAE theory joint research with Japan."
Ceria explained she'd met the President before the micro-black hole experiment's final approval. When consulted, she suggested resuming collaboration to ensure Japan's two strategic-class spells wouldn't target the USNA. However, Congress and military leaders were too paranoid about Japan's growing power.
"I looked into the Halloween incident," Ceria said. "The tsunami's secondary damage was nullified by 'Material Burst'—practically guaranteeing allied safety. Did you design Tatsuya's CAD, 'Third Eye,' big brother?"
"Sort of," Yugen said. "It's an upgraded version, directing shockwaves to negate tsunamis entirely."
Ceria, ever perceptive, likely guessed he and Tatsuya were "Taurus Silver." Yugen also aimed to cultivate USNA allies to monitor Edward Clark's moves. Just then, his communicator buzzed—Tatsuya. It was about an hour after Miyuki's training, likely during a break before dinner at the Shiba residence.
"What's up, Tatsuya? Action movie-style goons storming a shop, leading to a city shootout?" Yugen teased.
"Not that dramatic," Tatsuya replied. "But it's a bit of a mess. Can you come?"
"Got it. I'll hurry."
"Thanks."
Tatsuya calling something a "mess" was concerning, but Yugen, suited for cleanup, ended the call. He noticed Ceria eyeing him, mask on, "Parade" active, and "Levatein" stowed—clearly eager to tag along.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Yugen said, exasperated. "Even though your family's involved."
"Come on, I wanna see what your magi-modified Onii-sama did—ow!" Ceria yelped as Yugen flicked her.
"Magi-modified? Really?" he groaned.
Stepping outside, Yugen hoisted Ceria onto his shoulder. She squeaked, "Eh!?" but before she could protest, he took off.
"Hold that bag tight, Ceria!" Yugen said.
"F-Funyaa!?" she wailed.
Activating physical enhancement and a rare high-speed self-acceleration spell, Yugen hit 1,000 km/h—jetliner speed—while using an energy transfer spell to negate shockwaves. Reaching Tatsuya's location was effortless without "Mirror Gate." Yugen was fine, but Ceria clung desperately to her "Levatein" bag, teary from the high-speed ordeal.
"Hey, Tatsuya," Yugen said. "Here for cleanup duty."
"Thanks," Tatsuya said, eyeing Ceria. "And that's… Ceria on your shoulder?"
"P-Put me down…" she whimpered.
To onlookers, Yugen's arrival seemed like teleportation. Tatsuya, seeing Ceria, deduced, "She lost to you." Ceria, mildly traumatized by the speed, was gently set down. Yugen deployed a barrier and asked for a briefing.
"Stardust guys near the van?" Yugen asked. "Any other attackers?"
"Lina hit me," Tatsuya said. "Her 'Brionac' gave me a scare, but I managed."
"You're fine after that?" Ceria muttered. "Where's big sis?"
Stardust's presence was confirmed, but Lina was nowhere. Scorch marks on the ground and traces detected by "Osiris Sight" confirmed a battle. If Tatsuya hadn't "decomposed" her, where was she? Before Yugen could speculate, Tatsuya explained.
"Here's the thing," Tatsuya said. "Using the spell you gave me on Lina's 'Heavy Metal Burst,' I turned 'Brionac' into propulsion. She flew off at blinding speed."
"…Huh?" Yugen blinked.
"…What?" Ceria echoed.
In the original story, Tatsuya had jammed "Silver Horn" into "Brionac's" muzzle, using "Mist Dispersion" to decompose metal powder in its containment, propelling Lina with the resulting gas. Interpreting Tatsuya's words, Yugen realized he'd used "Buster Mist Dispersion" on "Heavy Metal Burst."
"Gram Dispersion" could've worked, but undirected plasma would've caused widespread damage. Instead, Tatsuya used "Buster Mist Dispersion" to combust the plasma explosively while maintaining directionality. Magic couldn't affect other magic, but decomposing a plasma-state atomic cluster altered by magic was different. A recent discussion about nuclear fusion shutdown systems likely inspired him.
In simple terms, Tatsuya detonated air inside a cylindrical air cannon. The blast's force hit "Brionac's" muzzle, which Lina gripped, propelling her faster than in the original story. Tatsuya survived unscathed by deploying a Psion Shield imbued with "Decomposition" and "Regrowth," neutralizing plasma and shockwaves.
"You didn't need to go that far," Yugen said. "What happened?"
"Lina's not cut out for military life," Tatsuya said. "I wanted her to realize that."
Tatsuya rarely cared about others, but his concern for Lina hinted at something deeper—though Yugen shelved that thought. The priority was finding her.
"Ceria, Lina has a GPS tracker, right?" Yugen asked.
"Yeah, it's critical for ops," Ceria said, checking her terminal. "It's active… but it's at sea?"
The tracker showed Lina three kilometers off Sagami Bay. Yugen acted swiftly.
"Forget what you're about to see," he told them.
With their nods, Yugen used "Mirror Gate" to reach Lina's coordinates, retrieving her and "Brionac" safely. She'd swallowed some water, requiring CPR. Surprisingly, Tatsuya stepped in.
"It's my fault this happened," he said. "You two handled the recovery, so I'll take this."
Tatsuya's pride wouldn't let him stand idle. Yugen left the rescue to him. Ceria muttered, "More ammo to tease big sis," but Yugen ignored it.
Stardust was left to the USNA, and Ceria was tasked with Lina—though, being labor-intensive, Yugen accompanied her. If Nanakusa retrieved the Stardust operatives, that was a future problem. Tatsuya, prioritizing Miyuki's training, agreed to Yugen's suggestion to focus on her.
Yugen carried Lina, but Tatsuya warned, "No funny business, got it?" Yugen thought, As if I'd pull a lucky pervert move like you. But the warning felt aimed at Miyuki's sake—and maybe Lina's.
At Ceria's residence, Yugen laid Lina on a sofa and turned to Ceria.
"It's late, so I'll let it slide for now," he said. "But I want to talk to Colonel Balance later. Can you set it up?"
"A talk, huh? This was our fault too," Ceria said. "By the way, you noticed the satellite surveillance?"
"Not just me—Tatsuya too," Yugen said.
Yugen had duplicated satellite footage as evidence. Erasing it wouldn't help; operational and relay data remained. Presenting all three would make USNA denials near impossible. Blaming Parasites would paint the USNA as "infested."
"Figures," Ceria sighed. "I might stop, but Lina, as 'Sirius,' won't."
"I know," Yugen said. "I'm heading out."
He'd told Tatsuya to tell Miyuki he was handling Pixie-related matters, buying time. Despite Ceria's past-life familiarity, she was from another nation and a military mage—complications he'd rather avoid.
"Stay a bit!" Ceria said.
"I'd rather not pile on more stress," Yugen replied.
With Parasite issues unresolved, Yugen couldn't let his guard down. Ceria had more work ahead.
Alone on his way back, Yugen mentally queried Alice, tucked in his pocket. The privacy was a relief.
"Alice, within your memory, Parasites prioritize self-preservation and proliferation, right?"
"Yes," Alice replied. "But I've relegated that to the lowest priority."
Her Parasite functions remained as a backup, modified unintentionally. This spared Yugen optimization efforts, a silver lining. Still, psychic abilities, beyond modern magic, were limited to covert uses.
"The 'separated' ones will soon find new hosts," Yugen said.
"You think Pixie—and I—will be targeted by other Parasites?" Alice asked.
"Even if your connection's gone, you're the same at core," Yugen said. "But they flee unless I fully mask my presence."
Normally, Parasites would target gifted mages, but when Yugen deliberately leaked his presence during pursuits, Parasite-possessed individuals fled. Back when he spared Charles Sullivan's Parasite (now Alice), she'd explained.
"We—my former self—had risk assessment," Alice said. "Targeting you risked being subsumed."
"So, even if I absorbed a Parasite, it'd just boost my power?" Yugen asked.
"Yes. Your unique magic is too potent to dominate."
Yugen's self-repair spell, based on "Reinforce," linked to "Kaleidoscope," made him near-impervious. Parasites couldn't tap infinite power across gravity's barrier, leaving them outmatched. Sighing heavily, Yugen processed Alice's analysis.
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