A+A-


    Sunday night, August 25th.


    The ce Minoru determined was the field used as the Monolith Code grassfields stage of the nine-school game untilst year, and it was the nned ce for the game in the uing Inter-School Matches.


    The ground leveling has already beenpleted. There are no ns to build a spectator seat in this year''s Inter-School Matches, so all there is to do is install the monoliths.


    Today is Sunday, so the venue has not yet been set up. Moreover, it is almost 10 pm. There was no one around.


    Although, this is on the grounds of the Defense Forces training ground. There were fences and surveince equipment in ce. The guards also patrol regrly. It wasn''t supposed to be an easy ce to enter.


    However, the self-driving car that Tatsuya is driving not only passes through the gate of the exercise area without being asked to show an ID, but also passes through with a near-face pass, and there was not a single soldier on patrol from the parking lot to the grassy field where he was invited.


    "Hey, how weird is that?"


    In response to Lina voicing her bad feeling,


    "Onii-sama, this is"


    Miyuki spoke to Tatsuya with a grim expression.


    "Yeah, it must be Minoru''s doing."


    Lina stares at Tatsuya, astonished.


    "Do you mean he is manipting with Mental Interference magic!? With a range so wide!?"


    "The Zhou Gongjin in Minoru was good with an East Asian continental Ancient Magic called Kimon Toukou, that derails the sense of direction. That magic does not taget someone specifically, but rather any unspecified opponent has his or her own sense of direction thrown off. Perhaps that''s the application of it, so that the security soldiers don''t perceive us. "


    "You say ''unspecified target'', is that really possible?"


    "Isn''t it the case with your Parade? The effects of disguising an information body to an observer don''t have to be limited to just one person."


    "That''s right Then at the gate!? Didn''t the gate sentry know us.?"


    "That would be another magic. I think there was some kind of suggestion that they wouldn''t have any doubts about letting us in. The permission I had prepared was wasted."


    Tatsuya had a permit to legally enter the base adjacent to the training ground. But it eventually became unnecessary. Well, for Tatsuya, it wasn''t too disappointing because he got it in half a day.


    There didn''t seem to be anything more that Lina wanted to ask about. The four remained silent and stopped at the ce designated by the challenge letter.


    There was almost no need to wait.


    Minoru and Raymond appear from the other side of the darkness in the opposite direction of Tatsuya''s walking path.


    About 5 meters. Minoru stopped at a distance a little far to talk, and for a short time of less than a second, of the three standing diagonally to the left of Tatsuya, Minoru''s eyes were fixed on Minami, immediately turning his eyes back to Tatsuya.


    "Tatsuya-san. I''m d you came, even though I did call you yesterday."


    "I didn''t have the option of noting, because I also have business with you."


    Tatsuya looks back and nces at Minami.


    It was a movement of the eye that was easy to understand, although, maybe it was on purpose.


    "Of course, I think you know what business it is."


    "Yes, I understand. Do you want to ask me to remove the parasite that is blocking Minami''s magic calction area?"


    "Yes. Minoru, you said you wouldn''t insert a parasite into her, unless Minami epted on her own initiative."


    Minoru smiled in an eerie way at Tatsuya''s denunciation.


    "The parasite that prevents Minami from overheating ispletely dormant. Unless ordered, she won''t be a parasite."


    "Do you want me to believe in your self-control?"


    Minoru''s smile bes even more eerie. That smile, which suited the darkness of the night, had a beauty that was unintentionally captivating.


    It was apletely inhuman beauty.


    "You can''t trust it, right?. To be honest, I can''t trust 100% myself."


    "Minoru, you"


    "Tatsuya wouldn''t understand. You, who is allowed to live with your loved one."


    "Minoru-kun, you are"


    Miyuki leaks a sad mutter.


    "I don''t think that Tatsuya-san''s life has been smooth sailing. I spent a quarter of the year in a sickbed and the other three quarters of the year not being allowed to do anything dangerous. So I think you may have had some sad experiences that I couldn''t even imagine. Otherwise, I wouldn''t imagine that you would fight the world like that."


    The smile disappears from Minoru''s face, and is reced by an expression like he swallowed something incredible shes through his beauty.


    "But Tatsuya is not alone. I don''t know your past, but in your present and future you are not alone."


    "Even though you too were not alone?"


    Minoru shook his head at Tatsuya''s question.


    "I know. I wasn''t alone. Even now, I have friends who are willing to risk death by following me."


    Minoru let out a self-deprecatingugh.


    "It''s no one''s fault that it''se to this. This is the result of my own choices. I don''t think it was wrong. It may not have been the best to be a parasite, but I still think it was the right choice."


    Tatsuya did not point out that the "right choice" had the tragic consequence of killing his grandfather.


    "It''s foolish rightness."


    He just said so with a cold voice.


    "From Tatsuya-san''s point of view, I suppose. You are a strong person. You can understand the weakness of hanging on to your foolishness, but you cannot sympathize with it."


    That''s not true, Tatsuya thought.


    He was just not allowed to be weak.


    However, he just thought but didn''t say it. That was probably not something suitable to say here.


    "And I''m so weak, that I''m not confident that I can keep self-control over my true feelings. I don''t know if I can keep up with the desire to be with her and make her the same as me."


    "Do you think you are forgiven if you are weak?"


    Tatsuya asks with a harsh voice.


    "I don''t think weakness is a justification."


    Minoru weakly shook his head from side to side.


    "I''m just acknowledging the facts."


    "That''s even more so. Remove the parasite that is possessing Minami right now."


    "What do you do after removing it? If the hibernating parasite that serves as a lid is removed, Minami-san will be at risk of overheating the magical calction area again."


    Minoru asks in a slightly cynical tone and seriously gazes at Tatsuya.


    "Even if treatment is not possible, the erosion can be stopped, and certainly, we will develop a cure before it''s toote.


    Tatsuya answered "certainly" and his gaze had an unwavering light.


    "Is that so?"


    Hearing Tatsuya''s answer, which was more firm than expected, Minoru muttered with an expression that looked like a Noh mask.


    Immediately after that, the eerie smile returns to his face.


    "There are two ways to do this. Needless to say, I order the Parasite to leave Minami-san, the Parasite''s hibernation is momentarily released, but since it''s under my control, Minami-san won''t suffer erosion."


    If Minoru intended to do so, he would have removed the parasite from Minami before exining it. In other words, he has no intention of adopting this first method.


    "And the second is to kill me. In this case, the parasite will be released, but since it is weakened by the forced hibernation, Minami is unlikely to suffer erosion. Sorry for the intuitive numbers, but I don''t think there is a sufficient 10% percentage of the probability of erosion to start. At most 5%."


    If he kills Minoru, Tatsuya''s wish wille true. In other words, Minoru himself is telling Tatsuya to kill him, as if he was calmly telling a story.


    "Tatsuya, a second."


    Lina, who had been silently watching the confrontation between Tatsuya and Minoru, tug Tatsuya''s sleeve twice. Tatsuya shifted his attention to Lina without turning his face.


    "I can''t believe it. It''s not a trap, but it''s a way to turn Minami into a parasite."


    Lina whispers in a small voice.


    "It''s not a lie. Even if Minami bes a parasite, it won''t mean anything to Minoru if he dies."


    Tatsuya answers Lina loud enough for Minoru to be able to hear.


    When Minoru heard those words, his expression distorts for a moment.


    But soon, it regains its neat appearance.


    "That''s it. Tatsuya-san, let''s begin."


    "Lets Kill each other."


    A bursting sound urs immediately after.


    Electric light bursts right in front of Tatsuya.


    The sparks disappeared without growing into a lightning strike.


    Minoru''s "Spark" and Tatsuya''s "Gram Dispersion".


    "You three fall back! Lina I leave Miyuki and Minami to you."


    "Yes!"


    At Tatsuya''s instructions, Miyuki pulled Minami''s hand and fell back,


    "Leave it to me!"


    Lina stands in front of Miyuki and Minami.


    On the other hand, there was no exchange of words between Minoru and Raymond.


    Raymond jumped out of the way as Minoru casted magic.


    Suddenly, Tatsuya appears in front of Minoru''s eyes.


    Although Minoru was surprised, he didn''t think it was strange. It was possible to guess right away that he used self-eleration magic by inertial control.


    He could only think about it, but couldn''t deal with it.


    He can see Tatsuya''s right hand extending to his chest.


    However, it was impossible for Minoru, who had not trained his body, not to hesitate or prevent Tatsuya''s palm thrust. Still, a part of his heart remained optimistic.


    The Parasitized Minoru has a strong self-healing power. Even if he suffers physical damage, it shouldn''t prevent him from moving.


    In fact, being in close contact with him is an opportunity for Minoru. Minoru thought that, if he released the magic "Cloudless Thunder" with a resolution in damaging himself in the process, he would be hurt, but Tatsuya, who is only a human being  not mixed with demons or has not received any reinforcement measures , would probably suffer more damage.


    But things weren''t that simple.


    Tatsuya''s thrust was as sharp as lightning . But for some reason Minoru could see it slowly. The body is totally unresponsive. Even the activation of magic cannot catch up.


    Only perception was following Tatsuya''s technique.


    Just before Tatsuya''s hand reaches Minoru''s body.


    Even though he hasn''t touched it yet, an impact is transmitted to Minoru''s whole body.


    It''s not a pain. It isn''t a material feeling, but if he dared to say it, it''s a wave. A hallucination that ripples ran through the skin.


    (Parade was broken through!?)


    The elerated thought recognizes the true nature of that sensation.


    Prior to the contact with Tatsuya''s palm, the dense Psion armor he wore pushed into the Psion information body that ovepped Minoru''s body, blowing away the "Parade" magic sequence that was d on Minoru''s body.


    Of course, that''s not the end.


    Tatsuya''s palm bottom collides with Minoru''s chest.


    This time the impact is pain.


    And Minoru is striked by an agony of not being able to breathe. It was not just because the air was pushed out of his lungs.


    His heart stops for an instant, and the blood flow stops.


    It wasn''t merely a problem with the body''s metabolism, where the cells couldn''t get the oxygen they needed for their activities.


    Tatsuya''s Psion traveled from Minoru''s heart, through his blood vessels, to his entire body, provoking a rejection from Minoru''s own Psion information body.


    Minoru''s limbs suffer from severe convulsions. No, not just the limbs. His torso, which had fallen on its back, repeatedly bounces on the grass, bending and stretching like anded shrimp, and his head swings back and forth in opposition to the movement.


    Even the extra-corporeal perception was whitened out due to the same confusion as the body.


    Tatsuya straddles Minoru''s waist and bends forward to peer at him.


    Both eyes were aimed not at Minoru''s face, but at the center of his chest, where his heart was.


    Right next to the spot where he had just struck the palm bottom thrust.


    Bending down, Tatsuya held Minoru''s right chest with his left hand and squeezed his right hand.


    However, this time his right hand assumed a stance in the form of a spear hand instead of a palm thrust.


    Minoru''s spasms subsided as if he had run out of strength.


    However, he still hadn''t recovered his consciousness.


    With blurry, unfocused eyes, Minoru looked up at Tatsuya, who was trying to gouge his chest.


    Tatsuya felt the Psion Layer coiled around the tip of his right hand dug into Minoru''s Psion body.


    In the next moment, "Parade" loses its effect and Minoru''s true form is exposed.


    Tatsuya recognized it in the space of 0.1 seconds.


    He didn''t think about it, he knew.


    In his right hand is a collection of Psions used in his full-body armor.


    This wasn''t because he had disabled "Parade". It was something he had decided to do by the time he unleashed the palm thrust.


    Tatsuya was prepared to be defenseless. Seeing Minoru''s hesitation in disarming the Kimon Tonkou, he decided to take the fight to the next level.


    The right hand catches Minoru''s chest. Slightly to the left, the ce he was aiming for was not far from the impact caused by his palm, from there he poured the Psions.


    There was a positive response that Psion prated.


    There was also a reaction on Minoru, who fell on the grasnds.


    Minoru spasms and writhe around.


    Tatsuya straddles Minoru''s waist to prevent him from escaping, and leans forward to observe his condition.


    The convulsions stopped and Minoru''s bodyy limp on the grass.


    The resistance appeared to be gone. Tatsuya judged that it was not acting.


    But, since he doesn''t know how long this condition willst, he should finish the procedure while it still persists.