novelChaos from the Beginning
| ← Ch.24 | Ch.26 → |
A military force of 3700 surrounded the demonic castle that had once been Constant Magic Academy. The flying aircraft carrier Genkaku was also present. Even with the great numbers of demonic beasts enveloping the school building itself, they should have been able to take control of the situation with little resistance. However, the demon king Sai Akuto's presence changed that.
Teruya Eiko looked out over the school building and schoolyard from the tent she was commanding from. The schoolyard was covered by the 600 Iga ninja commanded by Hattori Junko and the 1200-man regiment of imperial army infantry. This gave her a total of 1800 troops there. The plan was for them to hunt the demonic beasts surrounding the school building and create an opening to charge through.
But Eiko's plan quickly failed. A metal stake carved with a spiral was fired from underground, creating a hole. The infantry were just about ready to flee when they saw Akuto and the black dragon Peterhausen fly up out of that hole.
"Young lady, what are your instructions!?"
The regiment commander's voice reached Eiko through her telepathic communicator.
"Do not call me young lady! I am the head of the family! Instructions? What else are you to do besides intercept the demon king!?" Eiko shouted back into the telepathic communicator.
But then she felt a presence behind her and turned around.
She had been standing alone in front of the map in the command tent, but a man in a suit had appeared at some point.
Eiko clicked her tongue. He was the Cabinet Intelligence and Magic Office agent who had been loitering around the tent since the beginning of Operation Battering Ram. And he was one of CIMO 8 who were under Yamato Bouichirou's direct control.
And of all things, he spoke into the telepathic communicator.
"The demon king is a more lenient man than he looks. He naively refuses to attack those who flee and refuses to actively try to kill. Keep your distance and fight so as to provoke him."
"...Wha!?"
Eiko was dumbfounded. She ended the telepathic connection and immediately turned around. She turned the characteristic intimidating glare of the Teruya family toward the man, but he remained composed.
He looked to be in his thirties. He gave a flippant impression yet he had no distinguishing visual characteristics. One would easily believe he was a salaryman. There was no hiding his well-proportioned build, but the suit he wore hid just how much muscle he had. Every member of CIMO 8 was supposedly an expert in magical combat, but he did not look it.
"You told me I could do this however I wanted!" shouted Eiko angrily.
The man laughed in response.
"My apologies. I merely thought I would provide some help with the information I had gathered. Specifically, I have gathered information on the demon king's personality. I thought you might want to tailor your commands in accordance with that information."
Eiko was at a loss for words. She glanced over at the state of the battle. It appeared the demon king and the black dragon were having a bit of difficulty handling the infantry's more passive strategy. After he would easily blow away a few of the soldiers on the ground, he would spend an even longer time circling around in the air above.
"...I will take it into consideration. What is your name?"
In response, the man made the V-sign with both hands. Eiko's eyebrows rose at that ridiculous gesture.
"damn you! Are you mocking me!?"
"2V. That is my codename. Nice to meet you, beautiful. Ha ha."
Once Eiko's anger had receded once more, 2V began moving the units on the map that indicated the different military forces.
"Your objective is the annihilation of the demonic beasts and the capture or death of the demon king, correct? However, the situation has changed."
"I-I intended to have the infantry handle things individually to buy enough time to send in the aircraft carrier, " said Eiko, but 2V continued speaking as if ignoring her.
"An attack with the aircraft carrier would greatly damage the academy. This is being broadcast to the entire country and we cannot allow public opinion of the military to drop. It would be best to have your soldiers hunt down the demon king. Am I wrong?"
"I-I know that!"
"I apologize in advance, but the arrangement of your troops shows several bad habits of a novice commander. Have you forgotten that magical combat spreads out in all three dimensions? That black dragon is flying. The infantry provoking him are walking. The troops that can oppose him are the airborne battalion carried within the aircraft carrier. You were planning to have them rush into the school if it came down to it, weren't you? That is not how magical combat works. Use your unit that can fly to three-dimensionally handle your flying enemy."
Eiko could only remain silent when faced with this lecture. 2V waved his hands to tell her to calm down.
"Do not worry. You have command. I am merely supplying information. For example, it seems there is a device within the school that is controlling the demonic beasts. You will find victory much easier if you make destroying that your objective. If you destroy it, control of the demonic beasts will be lost when the demon king is far enough, " said 2V confidently.
Eiko was skeptical. Official military intelligence was not aware of this demonic beast controller. But 2V must have read that skepticism on her face because he spoke as if to preemptively answer her question.
"This is information we have gathered on our own. We are an intelligence office, after all. And no offense to military intelligence, but we are more skilled than your average intelligence agency."
"Can I trust you?" asked Eiko.
"Of course, " replied 2V with a smile.
"You say there is a demonic beast controller?"
"Yes. Now, how about we change the strategy to one intended to destroy it?"
2V stretched a hand out toward the map, but Eiko grabbed that hand.
"I am the one who decides on the strategy. You just need to give me what information you have. And you are going to take whatever actions you want, right? Then do so."
"As you wish, " said 2V while drawing his head back in an exaggerated gesture of fear.
"A controller?" asked Lily Shiraishi, the short student council president who wore a stylish hat.
Standing before her was a three-headed Cerberus demonic beast ridden by Etou Fujiko and Soga Keena.
"That is correct. I call it the altar."
Fujiko's long hair fluttered as she turned around. Instead of her school uniform, she wore an extreme bondage-style outfit. It seemed to be her image of what one accompanying the demon king should wear. However, she was beautiful enough to pull off that wicked woman look.
"That outfit is against school rules. And on top of that, you created a demonic beast controller at school? Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
There was a world of difference between violating the dress code and controlling demonic beasts, but that short girl with not much of a figure seemed to view them as equal crimes. Lily stared back at Fujiko with a hostile look in her eyes.
Fujiko laughed.
"Ho ho ho. Of course not! The altar is for Akuto-sama. Akuto-sama is much more just and powerful than the school. You could not put up enough resistance to even call it a fight."
The look in Lily's eyes changed to a murderous one.
"Hm? If I get a little carried away, I might take you out along with him."
"C'mon, don't fight. The headmaster is doing his best, remember?" warned Keena.
"I did not think I would hear that from you."
Fujiko had been about to make some reply, but Keena's comment must have taken the poison out of her mood. The same seemed to have happened to Lily.
"We can leave the details until later. For now, where is this altar?"
Fujiko answered Lily's question by pointing forward.
The three of them were headed toward the demon king's palace located in the deepest depths of Constant Magic Academy. They continued even farther in until they reached the place where the demonic beasts had been sealed.
"The demonic beasts are controlled using Akuto-sama's unique mana waves, but they go on a rampage when he is too far away or his mind is not in a stable state. That is why I created a device that outputs stable mana waves."
The passageway opened up into a small room. Fujiko climbed down from the Cerberus and pointed to the center of the room. A black magic altar decorated with skulls and dragons was placed there. It was about the perfect size for a single human to stand in front of it and perform a ritual. It was a venomous-looking object with a primarily red and black coloration.
"That's some taste you've got there, " said Lily with a grimace, but Fujiko did not mind.
"Thank you. The mechanism is actually quite simple, but I put a lot of effort into its appearance."
"Simple, hm? I suppose it is the jar-shaped thing in the center that's actually emitting the waves. But I thought it was impossible for a human's unique mana waves to be reproduced by anything but that person's own body."
That question brought an ecstatic look to Fujiko's face.
"It was not easy cultivating a portion of Akuto-sama's body until it would produce those waves."
"Eh? From what I heard, you didn't have enough time to cultivate anything from the time you decided to make this altar to the time you completed it."
Lily looked surprised, but for some reason, Fujiko embarrassedly brought a hand to her cheek and gave no answer.
"Anyway, if you do not protect this, your loss is unavoidable, " said Lily after clearing her throat.
"Yes. I must protect this altar with my life."
Fujiko spread her arms and opened a mana screen that displayed a map of the area around the school.
"Just protect it? That isn't going to cut it, " said Lily.
Fujiko placed her hands on her hips and gave a fearless smile.
"Akuto-sama said he would kill the Gods. It is only natural that I obey him. And I will not merely be protecting it. Fortunately, this is being broadcast nationwide. If the military is completely decimated by the demonic beasts here, it will give courage to the black magicians across the country!"
"You sure are optimistic. And in that case, I am your enemy."
"My enemy? I thought protecting the school was the student council president's job."
"Are you an idiot? I will not be fighting as the demon king's ally. I came with you to see what you were doing, " said Lily angrily.
"In that case, you need not worry. I will do nothing to get in your way, president. And I believe we have a common enemy at the moment."
"Teruya Eiko, you mean? I know what she did. The surveillance cameras just barely caught it. I have proof, but she's probably planning on eliminating all of us."
"Yes, but I have an idea as to how to fight her. If you intend to head out and fight that army, feel free."
"Are you saying you have a plan?" asked Lily since Fujiko was acting so confidently.
"Of course I do. The demonic beasts are under my command. Their teamwork is perfect. And I know exactly how a coward like Teruya Eiko thinks."
"Is that because you're a coward, too?" asked Lily sarcastically, but Fujiko nodded with a huge smile on her face.
"To a black magician, being called cowardly or a user of makeshift methods is the greatest compliment! Teruya Eiko will send her forces in bit by bit out of fear that we will self destruct."
Lily shrugged in annoyance, but then asked a question because Fujiko had touched on the issue of strategy.
"Self destruct?"
"If you do not count the demonic beasts, we are no more than a few students. If the entire enemy force charged in at once, we could destroy the school building with them all inside. She will fear that first and foremost."
"I see."
"And so she will only send her forces in bit by bit. That provides us with plenty of openings to take advantage of."
Fujiko looked like she was about to begin laughing loudly, but Lily cut her off with a question.
"But that's only if Teruya Eiko is in command, right?"
"Eh? Of course she will be in command. Does she look like the type that would hand command over to someone else?"
"No, but I've been investigating CIMO 8 and I've learned that someone with the codename 2V is with her."
This time, Fujiko asked a question because Lily's tone hinted at some further meaning to her comment.
"2V?"
"He's a specialist in controlling automata. And it seems he's an excellent strategist."
"How is that a problem?"
"If you're that confident, I guess that's fine. But I doubt he is thinking the same thing Teruya Eiko is. If he has some other purpose here, the situation may not progress as you think it will."
Lily's tone was strong, but Fujiko did not seem to be taking her seriously.
"Thank you very much. I will take that into consideration."
"Is that all? Well, do as you wish."
Lily moved away from the altar and began to leave the room.
When Keena saw that, she spoke to Lily.
"You're leaving?"
"The headmaster bought this time for us. I am going to use it in the most effective way I can, " replied Lily without turning around.
Several blows had already been exchanged in the confrontation between headmaster in question and Yamato Bouichirou. Bouichirou was holding the giant sword that had blown away even Akuto. The reason he had been forced to use even that sword several times was because the headmaster was giving him no opening.
The headmaster's upper body was bare, but his muscles were constantly undulating without a moment of negligence. His arms were gently rotating around each other in front of his body.
Anyone who knew the headmaster would have found this view of him unbelievable. He had been an old man who looked like a dried-up old tree, but now his exposed upper body was enveloped in tremendous amounts of muscle. This was the ultimate form of manipulating the body with transformation magic.
"Why are you blocking my way?" asked Bouichirou in a harsh voice.
This portion of the academy's underground passageways had only a single path, so he could not advance without defeating the headmaster.
"I have changed over the past hundred years."
The headmaster laughed with a light, youthful voice.
"Before, I fought alongside you to defeat the demon king, " pointed out Bouichirou.
"That was with the previous demon king."
"Then why? Why do you block my path when you know my objective?"
"I have not forgotten your objective. But my way of thinking has changed over the years. I thought defeating the demon king was the correct path back then."
"And now you do not? But nothing has changed."
"That is true. But is that not because we failed to do a good job? We defeated the previous demon king. And yet you are here now. Does that not mean that the future was not changed?"
Bouichirou's expression said those words had hit him where it hurt.
"But I did not know what the Law of Identity was back then!" protested Bouichirou.
Bouichirou vanished in the next instant. He had charged forward with tremendous speed. In an instant, he travelled to a point directly in front of headmaster and stopped there. However, he let momentum carry the sword in his hands such that it stabbed toward the headmaster. The tip of the sword broke the sound barrier and a great bursting noise shook the area.
The headmaster could not avoid this attack. If he did, he would be allowing Bouichirou past. However, he would be blown away if he took the attack head on. This was an attack that had blown away even Akuto.
What the headmaster did was nothing more than making one quick exhalation and increasing the speed of the arms rotating in front of his body.
Those arms moved as if sticking to the center of the blade. The rotation of the headmaster's arms knocked the giant sword off of its path.
"Tch!"
Bouichirou was unable to correct the path of the deflected sword and the tip stabbed deep into the wall. The sword stopped in the wall, but Bouichirou was forced to jump back or else expose his defenseless body to the headmaster.
The two were facing each other from the same distance as before.
There were a few holes in the school wall caused by that sword. The reason they had repeatedly exchanged blows yet the situation had not changed was that this same exchange occurred each time.
The headmaster did not attack Bouichirou, so nothing happened besides the passage of time.
"Are you not attacking me in order to buy time?"
"You may imagine whatever reason you wish. However, the real reason is that this Kakei[1] is most suited to this old body of mine."
"Either way, it prevents either of us from moving. And the situation is growing worse for me. I had not wanted to kill my old friend. I had actually wanted to speak with you, but you leave me no choice. Please do not hold a grudge if I end up killing you." Bouichirou slightly adjusted his grip on the sword."I will be slicing through the dimension itself. This is the Hodgson-style perfect slice."
Bouichirou swung his sword as he spoke and empty space was sliced apart along the path of its tip as if that space was made of gelatin. And that slice shot toward the headmaster at tremendous speed.
Slicing through space itself was a technique that allowed one to cut through anything. That was what Bouichirou had used to cut off Akuto's arm. The headmaster was of course unable to deflect this with the rotation of his arms.
The dimensional slice touched the headmaster's body.
However, the headmaster continued to stand with an unconcerned look on his face. The slice passed through him and continued on the other side. Nothing happened to his body.
"What...?"
Bouichirou's eyebrows rose slightly.
He fired another Hodgson-style perfect slice, but the sliced space passed straight through the headmaster once more.
"How? Is this just an image?"
Bouichirou sliced through space once more and charged forward after it. He swung his sword down along the same path as the slice in space.
The headmaster did not dodge the slice in space yet still deflected the sword with the rotation of his arms.
"How?"
Bouichirou jumped back once more.
"How I did it is a secret. You need little tricks like this if you are going to live as long as I have. Oh, but I suppose you have lived longer than me... Now then, old friend. How about we talk? Once you reach my age, you do not often find people to speak about old times with."
The headmaster smiled.
"I thought that might be an image, but it looks like I was wrong. You really are a shrewd old man. However, I am not short-tempered enough or young enough to grow angry when I am fooled. If you have something to discuss, then let us discuss it. However, we will not rest."
Bouichirou charged forward once more, but with less speed than before. He swung his sword with repeated quick and sharp blows. This allowed him to maintain his form and continue attacking even after the sword was deflected.
"We did indeed defeat the previous demon king together, but that did not improve the situation. I could no longer trust what you told me, " said the headmaster as he quickly rotated his arms to deflect all of the slashes.
"I was not lying when I said mankind will be destroyed!"
"I did not doubt that part. However, I began to wonder if you were wrong in your method of resolving that problem."
"I said mankind must take control of the Gods to solve it! Humanity will decide what humanity does. It is the abdication of that responsibility that leads to our destruction!" shouted Bouichirou, but the headmaster shook his head.
"No. That is not what you wish for. Your fixation lies in that woman you spoke of."
Bouichirou's hands stopped moving then.
The two of them glared at each other at close range.
"I trusted you enough to tell you the truth 100 years ago. I never thought I would regret that decision, " groaned Bouichirou quietly.
"I am still open to your trust. However, I learned something when we defeated the previous demon king. You merely want to take the demon king's place, " stated the headmaster quietly.
Bouichirou was at a loss for words.
"You called it the Law of Identity, did you not? The women with that property somehow resemble each other. Did you see that in Soga Keena?" asked the headmaster.
Bouichirou swung up his sword.
"Do you think I am so petty a man!?"
The sword produced a great roar as it shot toward the headmaster. He deflected it and replied.
"I do not. Your good heart is an irreplaceably wonderful thing. You possess great determination and know loneliness because of it. And that is why."
"We must control the Gods. That is how to avoid this destruction. What is wrong with that!? What good is destroying the Gods? There is nothing right about that! That is nothing more than obeying one's urge for destruction!"
"Debating it here is of no use. However, I feel that your methods are wrong."
"And so the demon king is in the right!?"
"No, he is wrong as well."
"Stop being so selfish! Is there anything worse than an old man speaking from the sidelines!?"
"I was young 100 years ago."
The headmaster deflected Bouichirou's sword and stepped back. He was out of breath now.
"But I suppose I am no longer young."
Meanwhile, Bouichirou was not out of breath.
"I am not actually all that pressed for time. I can speak for a little while longer."
Bouichirou held up his sword once more and began a slow advance.
"I am not changing my strategy. Those that can fly can handle this flying enemy. That makes this simple."
After speaking sharply to 2V, Eiko spoke into her telepathic communicator to give orders to the confused battlefield.
"Platoons 1 and 2 to the main entrance, 3 to side entrance, 4 to the connecting passageway. Move away from the demon king and await further order. Prepare to enter the school."
Eiko split off a small portion of her troops and had them prepare for simultaneous entry.
"That will make it easier for your opponent to defend. Why are you splitting up your troops to send them in bit by bit?" protested 2V.
Eiko glared back at him and explained, "Because there is a danger of them growing desperate and blowing up the school building. And this is the demon king's army. Stopping the demon king is most important."
"Yes, if you had a plan for doing so."
"Hmph. Of course I have a plan. You said I needed to look at this three-dimensionally, but that just means I need to use the people who can fly."
Eiko grabbed her telepathic communicator once more.
"All Hattori forces are to use everything they have to take out the demon king and the black dragon."
Eiko waited for a response. The commander of the Hattori family was Hattori Junko. Eiko could not hear that girl's voice coming from the communicator.
"What is it, Junko? Did you hear me or not?" asked Eiko with a cruel smile.
"Understood!" roared back a voice.
Eiko grimaced for an instant, but laughed in amusement after ending the telepathic connection.
"Ha ha ha! That should do it, right? A lot of them can fly and it seems they have that clown Brave with them, too! Now, let's see how Junko chooses to fight!"
Eiko began to watch over the battle situation, but 2V frowned where she could not see him.
"She's even worse a commander than I thought... I knew she would be bad, but I cannot have the situation growing too unfavorable."
As he muttered to himself so she could not hear, 2V lightly gestured with his right hand to call over a subordinate.
A single waiting messenger soldier made his way into the tent.
Those around did not notice, but this was an odd action. As a member of CIMO 8, 2V had no authority to give orders to a soldier.
But the reason for this soon became apparent. The expression of the messenger soldier who leaned in toward 2V had the characteristic lack of self seen in L'Isle-Adams.
"How about we take the command for ourselves?" said 2V quietly.
He and the L'Isle-Adam messenger soldier exchanged a glance. That glance held the distinctive light of mana. When the L'Isle-Adam nodded back, a clear sense of self could be detected in its eyes.
This was the technique 2V excelled at. He would transfer his will to a L'Isle-Adam and control it as his own body. And the L'Isle-Adams left with the military's odd jobs had been remodeled to accept 2V's will.
"Now, what should we do next?" 2V asked Eiko.
Eiko began to explain what she was preparing to do, but 2V was barely listening. He was focused on sending the L'Isle-Adam messenger soldier to mix in with the infantry who were awaiting further orders.
"I wonder if things are going well for Bouichirou, " muttered the messenger soldier with 2V's voice.
Notes
Jump up↑ Chinese martial arts term for neutralizing or controlling the direction of an opponent's attack. Known as Huajin in Chinese.
| ← Ch. 24 | Ch. 26 → |