The point where Tatsuya had engaged the Parasites and the point where Erika had confronted Shuji sat some distance apart. Pixie was caught directly in the middle, an anchor point in a storm, straining every fiber of her being to withstand "it."
Arriving at the scene, Tatsuya looked up at the "it" in question: a spectral, nine-headed dragon, its necks lashing out repeatedly as it tried to devour the robot. Tatsuya couldn't perceive the exact spiritual structure of a Pushion information body, but he could see that it was there. He could see its existence as clearly as any physical object.
"What even is that?!"
The voice belonged to Lina. For some reason, she had followed Tatsuya, and her face was pale with shock.
"You can see it?" Tatsuya asked.
"Not... exactly. I can't see the shape, but I can feel it. There's a gargantuan 'force' crushing that doll. Tatsuya, what is that thing?"
"It is the consequence of you ignoring my brother's instructions," Miyuki answered instead. Her voice was flat, dropping several degrees below freezing. Lina bristled, but the sheer coldness of Miyuki's tone kept her silent.
"My brother told you not to kill them, yet you recklessly slaughtered the Parasites' hosts one after another. Now their true forms are free and running wild. Tell me, Lina—how do you intend to take responsibility for this mess?"
"A 'mess'?! I was just doing my job!"
"Then finish it. Are you even capable of that? My brother was forced to resort to the passive measure of sealing them, yet you think you can do more?"
Ever since their earlier skirmish at the training grounds, the air between these two girls had been volatile. Miyuki's words were a direct challenge, and Lina—driven by pride and frustration—snapped it up at an exorbitant price.
"Fine! Just watch me!"
"Lina, wait—"
Tatsuya tried to intervene. Charging headlong at an opponent with no known counter-strategy was the height of recklessness. He reached out to calm her, but—
"Shut up! Stay out of this, Tatsuya!"
She was beyond reasoning.
"I have to succeed! Otherwise... otherwise, why am I even here?!"
Lina's outburst wasn't just directed at Tatsuya. He could hear the deeper resonance in her voice. "Here" didn't just mean this battlefield; it meant her current situation, her position, and her very existence—not as Angelina Shields, but as Angie Sirius.
In her agitation, her hair had reverted to gold and her eyes to blue. The "Parade" camouflage, which had held firm even under Miyuki's Zone Interference, had finally unraveled.
She was casting aside every pretense of Angelina Shields to fulfill the duty of Angie Sirius. She was desperate to be Sirius.
Tatsuya didn't just stand by as Lina threw herself at the Parasites. He knew from the start that no matter how much magic she unleashed, physical or elemental attacks would never defeat an entity that lacked a physical vessel.
(There's no other way.)
If anything could defeat that thing, it would have to be magic that acted directly upon the mind or spirit. Tatsuya gritted his teeth, resolving himself for a gamble.
"Mikihiko, can you see the situation from there?"
"I see it. I'm weaving a sealing circle as fast as I can, just... give me a little more time!"
Mikihiko's voice through the comms was even more frantic than Tatsuya's.
"What are the odds of that seal holding it?"
"...To be honest? Less than fifty percent."
A brief silence followed the question, followed by a confession heavy with bitterness. Tatsuya didn't judge him; he knew better than anyone that this wasn't an opponent one could make easy promises about.
"Mikihiko, I don't need it to be permanent. Can you hold it for ten seconds?"
The request was almost a plea—a rarity for Tatsuya. Mikihiko, and everyone else listening to the channel, caught their breath. It was a request based on pure, unadulterated trust. At least, that was how Mikihiko felt it.
"...Understood. Ten seconds. No matter what happens, I'll hold it. Give me the signal, Tatsuya, then do whatever it is you have to do."
Mikihiko's spirit surged. Tatsuya had a plan, and he needed Mikihiko's power to make it work. That was all the motivation he needed.
"Tatsuya-san, I'll help too!"
Honoka's voice followed immediately. She wasn't trying to compete; she simply wanted to be of use with every fiber of her being.
"Understood. Mikihiko, give the signal."
"Copy that... Three. Two. One. Now!"
On his own command, Mikihiko unleashed his Great Spirit Magic: Garuda Flame. A serpent of independent information—flame—coiled around the nine-headed mass of Parasites.
Beneath the fire, Pixie pushed back against the entity with a wave of pure thought. Her Psion reserves were being replenished as fast as she could spend them; Honoka had mastered the trick of feeding her energy perfectly.
Tatsuya didn't waste a second. As soon as Mikihiko gave the signal, he moved his left hand—the one not holding his CAD—behind him. With a sudden, forceful motion, he swept his arm around Miyuki's waist and pulled her flush against him.
"Ah—!"
"Miyuki, look!"
Miyuki's breath hitched, her Zone Interference and Tatsuya's Gram Dispersion both flickering out for an instant. But Mikihiko and Honoka held the line as promised.
Tatsuya whispered urgently into her ear. An invisible light flowed from Tatsuya into Miyuki, and from Miyuki back into Tatsuya. Their auras began to circulate between them in a perfect, closed loop.
"I see it, Brother!"
Their communication was instantaneous. Of the ten seconds they had been granted, five still remained.
Tatsuya's left hand moved to cradle Miyuki's head against his chest. Her hands pressed against his blazer, over his heart.
Tatsuya's right hand pointed toward the "it." The image of the entity was projected directly into Miyuki's mind.
Tatsuya provided the "eyes" to see the spiritual world. Using that vision, Miyuki unleashed the true, terrifying potential of her magic—the power that had been unsealed just for this moment.
Outer-System Mental Interference Magic: Cocytus.
The spell that freezes the soul.
Miyuki's magic, acting upon the very essence of the mind, froze the spiritual information bodies solid. Deprived of their vessels and their will, the "it" shattered into a million fragments, scattering into the void like dust.
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