"Let's get down to brass tacks," Yugen said, his voice dropping into a serious register. "Tatsuya, you'll be operating primarily under Juumonji-senpai to track and capture Gu Jie. At the very least, I need you to confirm his final location—even if he ends up dead."
"…Are you planning to kill Gu Jie once already?" Tatsuya asked, his tone neutral but perceptive.
"That's a last resort. After all, Grandfather is taking the field personally this time."
In the hands of the previous "Sirius" of the Stars, the Molecular Divider was considered a pinnacle of modern magic. However, against Tenjin Magic, it was little more than a "suicide move."
To a practitioner of Tenjin Magic, the high-density Psion fields required for a Molecular Divider are essentially high-octane fuel for their own Psion-grasping techniques. Furthermore, Gozo possessed a particularly predatory magical constitution: the terrifying ability to "consume" an opponent's entire power. Combined with his master-level martial arts, Gozo could hunt down and eliminate a target regardless of where they tried to hide.
Yugen remembered when Gozo had been caught in the middle of an Italian Mafia war. Under the pretext of "vengeance for his favorite pizza shop being destroyed," Gozo had single-handedly annihilated four of the five largest Mafia families in Italy. The funds he "seized" were handed over to the shop owner for reconstruction.
That shop owner happened to be one of Italy's finest chefs, and his son now served as the head chef at a three-star restaurant under the Kagurazaka family's patronage. Chisato had nurtured the bonds Gozo forged, creating a global network of sympathizers. It was this very connection that had allowed their foreign media acquisition strategies to succeed.
"For the time being, I need to stay sharp as the President of the Club Management Board to ensure no Humanists target the students," Yugen continued. "I'll tell Leo, Erika, and Mikihiko not to walk home alone, just like we did during the competition."
Yugen suspected the threat would extend to all students at Magic High Schools, Magic Universities, and even the National Defense Academy. Furthermore, if Gu Jie was the one backing Blanche and No-Head Dragon, then one specific countermeasure was bound to appear: Antinite.
Currently, very few Magic High School students could overcome Antinite in a direct confrontation. To solve this, Yugen had coordinated with FLT to develop a specialized "security buzzer." In appearance, it was a standard alarm, but when a magician funneled Psions into it, the device imposed "order" onto the chaotic noise of Cast Jamming. This created a field centered on the Antinite source that acted as a localized tear-gas-like deterrent within a two-meter radius.
While interference with organic matter was technically taboo, Yugen viewed it pragmatically. If movement magic could blow an opponent away by interfering with the information of their physical form, or if Explosion was the ultimate form of organic interference, then a non-lethal deterrent was perfectly justifiable. It was a logical step to prevent the escalation of violent crime. Mass production was already underway, and the devices were being loaned to students under the guise of Humanist protection.
"Once I've stabilized the situation at school, I'll join the effort to secure Gu Jie. The USNA military—the Stars—will likely interfere, but don't let them distract you, Tatsuya. You have authorization to use Mist Dispersion, and if necessary, any other classified magic you possess. Also, I've arranged a combat motorcycle for you."
Tatsuya nodded, immediately realizing it would be the same model as the Dreadnought Yugen had used recently.
Gu Jie would likely issue a manifesto tomorrow. People who seek to justify their crimes often hide behind words like "God" or "Holy War." They choose easy targets to prove their "righteousness," but when one justifies criminal acts against a constitutional state using religious ethics, it is no longer crime—it is war.
"We can't spare as many people this time as we did for Zhou Gongjin… By the way, Tatsuya, how much of your Elemental Sight resources are you currently dedicating to Miyuki?"
Tatsuya normally allocated half of his magical resources—including his hyper-perception—to monitoring Miyuki (at least, prior to his seal being partially released by the Yotsuba). When Yugen had explained his own Osiris Sight, Tatsuya had shared the details of his Elemental Sight. The release of Tatsuya's sealed power meant he had even more resources available for his perception.
Miyuki was no longer the fragile girl she once was, and she had friends she could trust. Even so, Tatsuya's lingering protective instincts prevented him from fully disengaging.
"With my increased capacity, I only need about ten percent to provide the same coverage as before," Tatsuya replied. "I intend to release it eventually, but now isn't the time. I assume you're doing the same for her, Yugen?"
"Well, it's about one one-hundred-millionth of a percent for me, which covers a similar scale to yours… Come on, Tatsuya, argue with me."
"I can't. It's impossible."
"Hey."
In the case of Yugen's Osiris Sight, he absorbed the surrounding Psions, meaning he could monitor Miyuki and his other fiancées with virtually zero risk. However, because the visual information flowed directly into his mind, he kept it filtered to emergency alerts only. If he left it on "Always Active," he risked seeing them in the bath or while they were dressing.
He had initially calibrated the resource allocation while at the Kagurazaka main estate, which had resulted in a sudden influx of images of his fiancées (Miyuki, Shizuku, and Himeki at the time) in an outdoor hot spring. Having learned his lesson, he now carefully explained the process to his newer fiancées before setting up the link.
"I knew about Brother's 'Eyes,' but yours too, Yugen-san?" Miyuki said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So that feeling of being watched back then wasn't just my imagination."
"I didn't mean any harm," Yugen muttered.
"I know. So… don't expect to get any sleep tonight."
"I have school tomorrow, you know..."
The reason Tatsuya reduced his resource allocation was that when Miyuki's emotions flared, her desires would bleed into his own consciousness. Since the summer before last, Tatsuya had been unsettled by the fact that he was finally experiencing the common lust of an average teenage boy.
While he still couldn't feel intense emotions other than his familial love for Miyuki, he was capable of basic physical attraction. He felt a profound sense of respect for his best friend, who managed to keep up with a cousin—and now fiancée—who was becoming more beautiful by the day.
"…Honestly, Gu Jie being here is a problem," Yugen sighed, "but am I the only one who feels like his existence acts as a sort of deterrent for other problems?"
"No," Tatsuya agreed solemnly. "I feel the same way."
"?"
Neither had any intention of thanking Gu Jie, but there was a strange, unsettling sense that the terrorist's presence allowed them to maintain a delicate balance with their fiancées. Miyuki and Minami simply tilted their heads in unison at the two boys' shared realization.
After their talk, Tatsuya asked Yugen for a specific favor: he wanted to learn how to break the Kimon Tonkou (Hidden Gates) technique. Yugen viewed the knowledge he'd gained from Zhou Gongjin as a tool to be used; he saw no reason to keep it secret. He took Tatsuya to the basement to teach him the fundamentals.
"The essence of Kimon Tonkou is the manipulation of vague temporal and directional branch points exactly as the caster desires," Yugen explained. "It belongs to the category of mental interference—essentially, a high-level illusion."
"An illusion. But can I break it? Even with my increased power, my talents are still heavily skewed toward specific types of magic."
"The key here isn't magical talent; it's self-awareness. You must be able to realize you are caught in an illusion. More specifically, you must maintain a constant, unwavering awareness of your own ego—the 'self' that is standing right here."
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