The group flying directly to the location consisted of Yugen, Erika, Leo, Mikihiko, and Jiro, alongside reinforcement members who had joined after receiving Yugen's message.
"Yugen, sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Sister Kana, Sister Mika. Where are Sister Shizuru and Brother Mototsugu?"
"Those two are in Gunma, so they said they'll storm Karuizawa directly... Just when we thought they'd learned their lesson after what happened with you, now they have the nerve to try fooling Shina. Honestly, the guts on them!"
Since "fooling Shina" was an accurate assessment, Yugen couldn't help but let out a wry smile at Mika's comment. Both sisters were equipped with state-of-the-art CADs, yet their attire looked unmistakably like casual clothes worn by female college students. Normally, they would be easy targets for armed opponents, but that logic did not apply to direct members of the Mitsuya family (with the current exception of Motoharu).
"Um, you two... Are you really okay going into battle dressed like that?" Erika asked, blinking in disbelief.
"It's totally fine, Eri-cchi! I've never been hit by a single bullet in my life, and Kana-nee just sinks bullets into oblivion anyway."
"Exactly. So we'll be just fine."
(...Hey, Yugen. I feel like these people's sense of common sense is completely glitched,) Mikihiko whispered.
(Don't say it out loud, Mikihiko...) Yugen replied mentally.
Combining real combat experience against active military mages with Yugen's specialized magic training methods meant that average opponents stood no chance against them. Their magic alone was formidable, but facing individuals who were also proficient in martial arts meant surviving an encounter with them was worthy of unconditional praise.
As Mikihiko questioned a reality that defied standard mage common sense, Yugen experienced a internal headache, even as one of the parties involved.
"At any rate, we're flying out to the location immediately. Are you two ready, Sisters?"
"Yep, no problem!"
"Let's just end them in one blow!"
"...[Sonic Drive], activate."
Feeling an absurdly overwhelming amount of trust from his companions, Yugen calmly activated his magic.
The destination reached via [Sonic Drive] was a dense forest. A short distance away stood a Western-style mansion, surrounded by individuals who appeared to be National Defense Army personnel.
"They're carrying firearms... Even if they're National Defense Army soldiers, isn't this security a bit overkill? To me, they look more like terrorists disguised as soldiers."
"Don't grumble so much. Alright, let's begin. Mikihiko."
"Leave it to me."
At Yugen's signal, Mikihiko used Spirit Magic to generate a thick fog around the mansion. It wasn't ordinary fog, but Mikihiko's specialized magic, [Gori Muchu] (Lost in Deep Fog), which incorporated elements of the direction-orienting illusion technique [Kimon Tonko] to distort spatial perception through event interference. The soldiers guarding the mansion's perimeter immediately fell into confusion.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Yugen and his team closed the distance in an instant.
"Take this!!"
"...Sorry, but you're going to sleep now."
Leo used [Dragoon Breath] to blow one soldier off his feet, slamming him against the mansion wall and knocking him unconscious. Erika slipped into another soldier's blind spot, using the CAD in her hand to forcefully strip away his consciousness.
Watching them from the corner of his eye, Yugen closed in on another soldier in a fraction of a second. He kicked the rifle out of the soldier's hands, hooked his raised leg behind the soldier's head, and slammed him face-first into the ground.
Kana used [Gravity Bullet] to sink a soldier into the earth, while Mika used [Blitz Road] to close in and neutralize another in a single blow. While they made it look effortless, it wasn't because the enemy was weak.
"...I don't sense Tohyama Tsukasa inside the mansion."
"Huh? Does that mean Shina was taken somewhere else?"
"No, that's not it. I can definitely sense Shina's presence inside."
While techniques existed to mask one's presence, completely hiding human existence was extremely difficult—a feat considered high-level even within Ancient Magic at the current world's magic technology level.
Having noticed the surrounding police cordon set up in advance, Tsukasa—possessing exceptional spatial awareness—had likely sensed the anomaly and fled. One could only feel a pang of pity for the National Defense Army Intelligence Department, left behind to take the fall.
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