Chapter 112: Going Out, Catching a Wild "Sirius"
"Saegusa Mayumi-san, please help us."
Watatsumi Kokoa pleaded.
Kokoa was just one of nine sisters—the sole surviving batch of adjusted subjects who had endured CAD integration.
The others had either burned out from magical overuse or suffered fatal neural overloads.
They were treated as expendable parts.
Mayumi and Miyuki listened with growing sorrow and outrage.
Even in 2096, such atrocities persisted for selfish ambitions.
Tina and her sisters—though unfamiliar with magic—understood the test subjects' plight all too well, having once fought for survival on operating tables themselves.
Even the usually brash, quarrelsome Rita fell silent, unable to meet Kokoa's gaze.
After a moment, Tina tugged Mahiro's sleeve, her eyes shimmering crimson with emotion.
"Mahiro-san, please... help them?"
"Of course. That's why I'm here."
He patted Tina's head before kneeling before Kokoa.
"Kokoa-chan, how about this big brother helps save your sisters?"
"Ah... thank you, big brother."
Initially fearful, Kokoa hid behind Mayumi and Miyuki before cautiously emerging upon sensing his kindness, bowing deeply.
"You're welcome."
"Mahiro-kun, what's your plan...?" Mayumi finally asked.
"Mahiro-nii will surely annihilate them cleanly."
Miyuki sweetly voiced the grimmest outcome.
"As expected of Miyuki."
Mahiro chuckled before turning serious. "Anyone who harms children forfeits their right to live. That's my rule."
"...I figured." Mayumi sighed.
She'd anticipated this after the [Blanche] incident—not to mention him obliterating an entire world for the children's sake.
Bizarre as it sounded, this was quintessential Mahiro.
"Mayumi-senpai, you're not going to stop me, are you?"
Seeing her hesitation, Mahiro probed.
"Not at all."
Her wavy locks swayed as she shook her head.
"Though they're Japanese naval personnel, their actions transcend human decency. As a member of the Ten Master Clans—no, as a human—I believe they must be punished.
So don't exclude me this time, Mahiro-kun. I'm fighting alongside you."
"Me too, Mahiro-nii! No leaving me behind like before!"
"Tina will help too!"
"Louise will assist Onii-sama!"
Even Rita, arms crossed, added grudgingly:
"Hmph. I suppose I can lend a hand... just this once."
Seeing their resolve, Mahiro grinned.
"Naturally. If you're here, you're working."
"And Rita—keep up the tsundere act, and I'll spank you purple."
"Y-you... grr..."
Rita was about to retort when she suddenly recalled that nightmare-like experience. Subconsciously covering her buttocks, she retreated several steps.
She was completely tsundere—he really didn't like that type.
Well, not exactly.
It was fine on Lina, since it gave a feeling of playing hard to get.
But on Rita, it carried a bratty vibe that made one's hands itch to teach her a lesson.
"Oh, we have visitors."
At that moment, Mahiro seemed to notice something and suddenly turned his gaze toward the window.
Following his line of sight—
Under the fading twilight, a military vehicle approached from the distance, parking beside the aircraft. Two officers emerged and approached the cabin door, demanding it be opened and the ladder lowered for an inspection.
"Young Lady."
"Leave it to me."
Mayumi walked to the boarding gate and opened the cabin door. Looking down at the two officers, she asked in a gentle, polite tone:
"May I ask what business you have?"
"We demand to inspect the interior of the aircraft. A special patient has just escaped from the base hospital and may cause widespread infection."
"I see..."
Mayumi smiled gracefully but refused: "My deepest apologies, but I cannot permit a search. A Saegusa family party is currently being held onboard, and your actions would disturb my guests."
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Saegusa Mayumi—'seven' as in the number, 'grass' as in plants. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Hearing the surname Saegusa, the two officers froze for a moment before exchanging glances.
They had actually stumbled upon a Saegusa family aircraft?
But the problem was—they had been given a strict order. Even when facing members of the Ten Master Clans, they could not back down.
"Miss Saegusa Mayumi, please step aside. We need to board and inspect."
"I've already said your actions would disturb my guests, so no."
Mayumi could sense their strong attitude—their forward movement suggested they intended to force their way aboard.
So she placed her hand, which had been behind her back, on her portable CAD.
An invisible wave of psions instantly spread out.
Through Multi-Observation, she had already locked onto both of them.
In the next instant, two dry ice hailstones materialized out of thin air and struck the ground beside their feet.
"That was just a warning. If you insist on forcing your way aboard, the next shots won't target the ground—they'll pierce your bodies."
"I'm completely serious, you know."
Faced with Mayumi's threat, the officers' expressions darkened. To think they were being threatened by a young girl!
But just as they drew their CADs and prepared to activate magic, they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their chests!
"Ugh—!!!"
"Huh?"
Mayumi was stunned.
She hadn't done anything, yet the two officers suddenly clutched their chests and collapsed to their knees.
What was this?
An attempt to frame her?
But in the next instant, their bodies burst apart and dissolved into dust.
"I say, Senpai, what's with all the chit-chat? Wouldn't it have been easier to just eliminate them from the start?"
Mahiro's voice drifted lazily from inside the cabin.
"You really don't play by the rules, do you, Mahiro-kohai..."
Mayumi smiled wryly and pressed a hand to her forehead.
Normally, one would negotiate first, issue warnings next, and only then resort to action. Yet Mahiro's approach skipped straight to the final option.
But admittedly, even if it wasn't justified, this was indeed the most efficient solution.
"Besides, Senpai, don't forget we're planning to force our way into a military base. Since we're already going to be model citizens with five-star ratings, why bother about whether it's justified or not?"
"You have a point..."
Mayumi felt she was being corrupted.
Boom—
Just as Mahiro was teasing her, the ground suddenly shook violently.
"Earthquake?"
"Explosion?!"
Neither.
In the distance, a plume of eerie blue particle-laden radioactive dust rose, swirling with thunderous energy.
The intense radiation emitted extreme heat, as if something was burning fiercely inside.
"Is that...?"
"That's 'Heavy Metal Burst'."
"Mahiro-nii, does that mean Lina did it?!"
Miyuki had just steadied herself and emerged from the cabin when she heard the term Heavy Metal Burst. Her first thought was Lina.
"Pretty much. No one else has that magic," Mahiro muttered as he turned back toward the cabin. "Though it's a bit unexpected, it seems we'll have to count the Stars squad as enemies this time too, and they're led by their main force. Even so, we need to adjust our tactics."
To be precise, the forces heading toward Southern Shield Island weren't just the Stars—they were there too.
Additionally, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion had dispatched Tatsuya, who had just landed on the opposite side of Southern Shield Island and was advancing toward the destination.
"This is truly reckless."
Dressed in black combat gear that blended perfectly into the night, he took advantage of the chaos caused by Heavy Metal Burst to infiltrate the base.
Meanwhile, Lina was floating in the air, launching feints against the base's defensive positions from a distance to cover her squad's infiltration.
Air raid sirens blared across the entire island. Tourists and residents were fleeing, plunging the island into chaos.
"Really now... Is that woman Yotsuba Maya a rabbit or something? How dare she sell off everything?"
Watching Lina in her black combat suit high in the sky, having her own showtime, Mahiro couldn't help but complain.
Even flight magic was being sold off like wholesale cabbage. If that woman got her hands on a few more strategic-level magic formulas, she'd probably bundle them up and sell them all together.
"Whatever."
Mahiro shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.
Instead, he pulled out his CAD and aimed it at Lina, who was casting magic high above.
Stopping this foolish woman was the top priority. If she continued causing such havoc, it would become a major problem for Mayumi and the others infiltrating the base.
Moreover, the interference from strong electromagnetic waves made communication impossible.
"Activation Sequence—Deploy! ...Huh?!"
Lina, preparing for her next attack, found the magic formula encircling her rifle-type CAD suddenly shatter.
No, to be precise, it disintegrated.
No way?
A cold sweat broke out on Lina's back.
As far as she knew, only two people in this country possessed such power: Shiba Tatsuya and Yotsuba Mahiro!
"Could it be that guy is nearby?! Please don't..."
"Don't what?"
"!!!"
Lina was startled, turning around to see a familiar figure had already flown behind her.
"You... why are you here?!"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Mahiro smiled faintly.
Compared to Lina who was fully armed, Mahiro's attire was much simpler—just ordinary casual clothes, plus one or two CADs, nothing more.
"I came here specially from Misaki Island at someone's request."
"But you, Lina."
"Why are you here? We parted less than a month ago, do you miss me already?"
"Who would miss you, you bastard!"
Lina's face flushed red at his words, but she immediately asked: "So your target is that naval base and research institute over there too?"
"Of course. Someone here is making some moves that are troubling my girlfriend, so it's only natural I'd step in."
"I stopped you earlier because the radiation range of your Heavy Metal Burst was too large, causing communication problems."
"It's really troublesome to keep observing Mayumi's situation from a distance."
"You mean... President Saegusa is inside the base right now?!"
"Mhm."
Mahiro hummed lightly in affirmation.
Originally, he wanted to assign Mayumi different work and have Tina and Rita infiltrate to bring the person out.
After all, they're more skilled at covert infiltration work like this.
The problem was, Mayumi wasn't willing, because inside was her brother's teacher, Ms. Morinaga.
This commission was sent by that woman.
However, after receiving his confirmation, Lina seemed to remember something and suddenly became anxious.
She quickly opened communications, trying to contact the infiltration team.
Unfortunately, the communications were affected by electromagnetic interference and couldn't connect.
"No good, I need to find a way to contact Hardy!"
Otherwise, President Saegusa will die!
Mayumi was probably the person who took the best care of her during her time at First High School. Although she sometimes played pranks, those days made her very happy.
The order for this operation was to destroy all research materials and equipment.
Based on her understanding of Ralph's personality, he would definitely kill the researchers along with everything else!
He might even deliberately identify Mayumi as a researcher and kill her!
And Hardy wouldn't stop him either!
"Don't worry about Mayumi. Rather, Lina, you should worry about yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Simple. Do you think I would let Mayumi risk going alone into a dangerous research facility? You sent two Stars members to infiltrate the base this time, right? They're probably already dead by now."
As the sea breeze blew, Mahiro's words gradually drifted with the wind.
They reached Lina's ears, and she stared in disbelief, her eyes wide open.
...
Meanwhile, at the naval base.
"Louise, I've spotted someone here who should be the third party Brother mentioned."
"Mm, I understand, Fay. I'll notify Rita. But I've also encountered an external force here, though they seem to know Brother. It's a man wearing cool armor... I really want to strip his clothes off and give them to Brother."
"Mahiro-nii would definitely look great wearing them."
"Louise, don't do that. Mahiro-nii doesn't like secondhand clothes. It would be better to design a set for Mahiro-nii based on that person's style."
"Tch~ I get it, Sister Tina. It's so nice how close you are with Brother..."
The little lolis chatted idly over the comms, each keeping watch on their respective targets, ready to strike at any moment.
Accompanying Mayumi in infiltrating the base were Asari Springersteen and Eileen Spencer. Although their IP rankings weren't high, being about equal with Tina's, they were the two most suitable for guard duty like this.
However, right at that moment, the casual chat among the three lolis was interrupted by a sharp reprimand.
"Hey, what the hell are you all talking about! Don't you know chatting is prohibited during missions? Get to work, damn it!"
"Rita, have you finished on your end?"
"Pretty much done. Just one breath left."
As she spoke, Rita cast a cold glance at the person at her feet.
"Hehehaha... cough! What an exaggerated little girl. I really want to dismember and chop you up! I'd love to hear your death throes! Cough—"
A red-haired man dressed similarly in black combat gear lay on the ground. Even though he was severely injured—with a ghastly wound on his chest so deep his internal organs were visible, blood flowing out as if it cost nothing—he still wore a cruel smile.
"Goodbye, disgusting scum."
Rita said coldly, then expressionlessly swung her blade down, completely ending the other's life.
But as she looked at the corpse, Rita seemed thoughtful.
"So this is a magician?"
His clothing seemed to be equipped with that thing called CAD. It made the fight slightly troublesome.
But not too difficult.
She surpassed him in both speed and strength. Although his moves were somewhat bizarre, they were nowhere near as tricky as that detestable man's.
Probably just an insignificant underling... most likely.
Rita speculated inwardly, then spoke into the comm again: "I'm done here."
"Okay, Rita. I'll start my move too."
"No, Sister Tina, leave this one to me!"
Then, Rita heard the sounds of clashing metal over the comm, along with some wave-like sound effects, followed by several loud gunshots.
Silence fell over everything.
"Wah... Sister Tina, you promised to let me have the kill! You blew him to pieces! How am I supposed to cut off his head to show Brother for the mission now? I won't get Brother's praise!"
Tina: "..."
No.
"If you cut off someone's head and give it to Mahiro-nii, he'd only scold you, wouldn't he?"
Tina couldn't bring herself to say these words aloud.
She just thought that yanderes were truly terrifying.
...
"And this is only the beginning. Next, the submarine sent by the USNA will also be destroyed."
Mahiro narrated the upcoming events to Lina as if telling a story.
Sure enough.
As soon as he finished speaking, a freezing wind capable of solidifying the air swept up from the sea surface, shooting straight into the sky.
Feeling the chill clearly, Lina instinctively looked down to see the previously turbulent sea surface had transformed into land-like glaciers.
The submarine that had surfaced was now firmly frozen in place!
A frost-like layer of ice condensed on its dark metal exterior!
It had completely become a glittering world of ice and snow.
"This is... Glacial Age?! No... that's not right, this scale has reached Strategic-level!"
Lina couldn't believe the scene before her eyes.
Since the man before her showed no psionic light, it probably wasn't his doing. Then...
Could it be Miyuki?!
In her understanding, the only magician who could perform such large-scale phenomenon alteration over such a wide area while being close to Mahiro was Miyuki.
But if this were a Strategic-level magic, ordinary general-purpose CADs couldn't meet the performance requirements—they shouldn't be able to handle the activation sequence...
This was her understanding, and indeed it was true.
When she raised her hand, she noticed Mahiro holding a second CAD—a portable model colored like ice and snow, exactly the one she had seen Miyuki use before!
Shifting her gaze, she further observed Miyuki standing on the coastline near the naval base.
She was holding a black knife high above her head.
The psionic light swirling around her body was even more radiant than moonlight, and her posture with the raised blade resembled a priestess offering praise.
Her dress danced gracefully in the sea breeze blowing toward her.
Her flowing black hair made her appear as if she had transformed into the Queen of Ice and Snow!
Strategic-level magic "Glacial Age" activated!
"Ugh..."
The howling, bitter wind stung Lina's face, and she let out a faint, frustrated sound from her throat.
"So this is your true power, Miyuki..."
Although she had suspected that Miyuki might be a Strategic-level magician like herself,
She never imagined it was actually true...
What kind of monsters has this guy gathered around him?!
He himself goes without saying—completely capable of overwhelming and crushing her—and now her rival Miyuki is also a Strategic-level like herself.
Not to mention that his faction includes rare elemental bloodlines and special ability users.
The Chiba family's young lady, whose magic might be slightly inferior but could completely obliterate her in close combat.
And it's said that the girl exchanged with her also possesses extremely high magical aptitude—with proper training, her future potential would be immeasurable...
Finally, Lina directed her frustrated gaze toward Mahiro.
"...What are you planning this time?"
After all he had done, she didn't believe this guy simply wanted to destroy the naval base. Otherwise, he wouldn't have targeted the submarine she was on.
"Actually, it's nothing much. Last time you rejected my proposal, right? So I came up with a new plan on the spot, but I never expected you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep."
Hearing this, Lina immediately felt a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.
Last time she'd felt this way, she'd ended up being stuffed like a cream puff.
So this time...
Could it be that this guy plans to do it on the ice surface below?
It's so cold!
However, it was quite clear that the girl's imagination had run a bit too wild.
"Don't worry, I don't have that much energy to spare. There's plenty of time ahead, so this time I've thought of a great way to keep you by my side forever."
"Whew, you scared me to death. As long as it's not that kind of thing... Wait, what did you say?"
Lina breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then quickly realized something was wrong.
Mahiro met her astonished gaze and, unusually, adopted a serious tone:
"What I mean is, since Miss Lina is a Strategic Class Magician who entered the country illegally and deployed a Strategic Class Magic on our territory, then as a member of the Ten Master Clans, I will represent the Yotsuba family in arresting you!"
"Huh?!!!"
Lina's shock echoed through the sky.
She never expected that Mahiro had this in mind!