The mansion in Karuizawa certainly had the atmosphere of a place where something "haunted" might appear, but there was no sign of anything spiritual, such as a supernatural creature.
After swiftly securing the area outside the mansion, Yugen sensed the flow of psions and hid behind cover. The next moment, an "arrow" shot toward the main entrance exploded, cleanly blowing away only the door.
Since he knew someone capable of pulling off such a feat, Mika was the first to offer her opinion.
"Ah, that's Shizuru's magic. She's really pissed."
"Can't blame her. They lured her precious Shina into this mess... Mototsugu, you've had it rough too."
"Thanks. I appreciate the sympathy."
Just then, Mototsugu appeared from behind Yugen and the others. Not only Shizuru, but several disciples of Shin-Kage-ryu Swordsmanship had also come with him.
"Mototsugu, I didn't expect you to bring the disciples too."
"I had no choice. At first, Grandpa brought out six live blades and proudly declared, 'I'm going to save Shina!' As a compromise, I brought the disciples instead."
If Gozo had come himself, the mansion might not merely have been completely destroyed. It could have been reduced to bare ground.
At that point, rescuing Shina would have been the least of their concerns.
Yugen knew there was actually a precedent for Gozo reducing a building to rubble while somehow leaving only the hostage alive, but they had decided to avoid that possibility because of the question of credibility.
In any case, Mototsugu gave the disciples their orders, and Jiro followed them as they advanced into the mansion first. The police's special mage unit then stormed in after them.
"So, I'm guessing the fox from the Toyama family who set up this ridiculous farce isn't here. Where do you think she went?"
"She probably went to the secret detention facility to deal with the USNA soldiers. Though it seems Tatsuya is handling that side."
"...Tatsuya, huh? That woman really drew the short straw."
Tsukasa had no chance of defeating Tatsuya once he started using magic.
Yugen had already given Tatsuya permission to use [Trillion Drive] if necessary, and had even told him that [Sonic Acceleration] was acceptable in the worst-case scenario.
Even without those, Mototsugu occasionally trained Tatsuya at Kokonoe Temple. Tatsuya wouldn't lose easily, and to Tsukasa, Mototsugu was nothing short of a "nightmare."
"You guys are chatting pretty casually, but is it really okay to send Jiro in alone?"
"We already know roughly how many enemies there are. Besides, these disciples are all elite Upper Rank practitioners and carefully selected candidates for mastership. Even if the police are useless, they can neutralize something as simple as a high-powered rifle."
"I think Yugen is pretty remarkable too, considering he remembered that and immediately saw through them."
"Not as remarkable as Grandpa, brother."
They had become acquainted with the disciples after dealing with Gozo's affairs so many times. The moment they respectfully bowed their heads to Yugen, he immediately understood the level of skill they possessed.
Put another way, Gozo could only have felt comfortable staying behind because these people were powerful enough to handle themselves.
Gunshots could be heard from inside the mansion, but through the magic cast over the building, they could clearly sense people crashing into one another like pinballs.
"Erika, you guys can go too. Have fun."
"By the way, what if the enemy tries to surrender?"
"Blow them away without hesitation. You can consider everyone in the mansion except Shina a 'criminal who has broken the law.'"
"Got it. Leo, Miki, let's go!"
"Y-Yeah."
"Honestly, my name is Mikihiko..."
After giving Erika, who had clearly been eager to let loose, only a few basic warnings, she dragged Leo and Mikihiko into the mansion with her.
Kana tilted her head at Yugen, who showed no intention of entering.
"Yugen, aren't you going?"
"I need Jiro to finally make up his mind and show some resolve as a man."
"...Ah. I think I kind of get it."
"So that's what this is about..."
Just before they stormed in, Yugen had used [Osiris Site] to search for Shina's location. He found her in a bathroom adjoining a certain room on the second floor.
Once he realized that, he could also figure out what state of dress Shina was currently in, so he deliberately sent Jiro ahead of him.
Among the five people here, Mika was the only one without any experience, but the other three besides Yugen more or less understood what was going on.
"I was a little disappointed that they had fewer forces than expected. What should we do? Should we go support Tatsuya?"
"No. They already have enough people handling that side, and we've prepared a contingency plan in case something goes wrong... Though I'm worried about those two."
"Can't be helped. Those two specialize in attributes that boast some of the greatest destructive power among Tenjin magic..."
Yugen could fly over there immediately, but he was staying behind to secure a route home after Shina had been rescued.
They had already prepared a contingency plan in case Tatsuya ran into trouble, but the fact that the two people serving as that contingency could potentially destroy the entire secret detention facility was somewhat troubling.
Still, desperate times called for desperate measures, so they had reluctantly accepted it.
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