"To be honest, I want to complain about why I'm stuck dealing with this as a high school student," Yugen grumbled. "What are the adults doing...? They should take a page out of the Emperor's book; the man is sixty and already looking toward retirement."
"Yugen-san..." Miyuki whispered, looking at him with concern.
The reality was that even the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion couldn't track the enemy's whereabouts without relying on Tatsuya or Yugen. To avoid being exploited by the military, Yugen had carved out a role for himself as a "non-combatant" specialist, a move fueled by his deep-seated distrust of Saeki.
Yugen knew complaining wouldn't change the world, but he couldn't help the outburst. Seeing Miyuki's worried expression, he gently patted her head and called out to the space behind Tatsuya.
"On that note, I'll leave the handing over of the defectors to you, Major Kazama."
"So you noticed me... I thought I was doing a decent job of hiding," Kazama said, stepping out of the shadows.
"Tatsuya didn't notice you, so consider that a compliment."
Yugen's words weren't a jab but a sincere acknowledgment. Kazama's skills were respected even by his master, Yakumo. While Yugen was wary of military politics, he saw no reason to end his personal association with Kazama Harunobu.
"Surely the Major didn't come all this way just to eavesdrop?"
"No. We're ready to move. Officially, you all fall under the command of Lieutenant General Kamijo, so I'll be expecting your cooperation."
By placing themselves under the nominal command of Yugen's alias (Special Task Lieutenant General Tatsuzou Kamijo), the group avoided any bureaucratic friction. They deployed from a jet piloted by Sanada, dropping toward the target tanker and using gravity-reduction magic just before impact.
Yanagi, Lu Ganghu, and their units moved swiftly toward the mooring dock and the submarine. While they weren't wearing full 'Movable Suits,' their protective gear was rated for small arms fire. However, the Yotsuba-affiliated collaborators had been given specialized magical defense equipment.
The principle was simple: by channeling psions into a sigil-type magic circle, they could deploy a defensive field equivalent to 'Phalanx.' The spell was designed to overwrite the information-reinforcement sequences already surrounding the wearer, eliminating the need for coordinate stabilization and drastically reducing psion consumption. It was an application of the cloak technology Tatsuya had used during the Monolith Code competition two years prior. Tatsuya listened to the explanation with genuine admiration.
"...Impressive. It's no wonder Master Yakumo praises you so highly."
"It's nothing special. I've never even managed a proper duel with the old man," Yugen replied.
Upon landing, Yugen used his CAD, 'Odin,' to trigger 'Ozone Bullet,' instantaneously neutralizing every enemy soldier on the deck. He dismissed Kazama's praise, knowing full well that Yakumo only "praised" him because the monk had never truly tried to kill him. Yugen then deployed the 'Shadow Wolf Array' barrier, warping the perception of the security cameras to erase their presence entirely.
Taking that as her cue, Miyuki invoked 'Zero Niflheim.' Yugen had asked for a temporary restraint, but Miyuki's power reached all the way to the seabed. The water froze with such intensity that the tanker was suddenly perched atop a gargantuan pillar of ice.
"...Miyuki."
"I suppose I got a little carried away," she said with a playful tilt of her head.
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