Chapter 23

CHAPTER THREE Uproar in Akihabara The following day… Mag Rosanta—Magic Town resident, mediumship mentor, and principal’s assistant—went missing. Early that morning, an explosion took place in a mechanical-surgery clinic in Electric Town. The cause was unknown. A full-borg body was found at the scene of the accident. The severity of their injuries rendered them unrecognizable, currently pending investigation. Mag Rosanta, a full-borg, was confirmed to have visited the mechanical-surgery clinic in the third level of Akihabara Electric Town for periodic maintenance. Her relation to the case was also under investigation. Magic Town called for a joint investigation, but Electric Town refused. Members of the Akihabara City Council representing Magic Town gathered signatures to present a complaint against the Electric Town faction. News of the intensifying conflict spread throughout Akihabara like wildfire. That day, at noon, in a classroom of the Akihabara School of Magic, everyone was talking about Mag’s disappearance and how their mentor could possibly be connected to the explosion. Rumors gave place to further rumors, and the students thirsting for entertainment consumed the news as such. “Aine, did you hear that Ms. Mag disappeared?” “Yes, I heard someone from Electric Town kidnapped her.” “Of course it had to be them! Those chaotic maggots!” “We should just go to war and conquer them already. Our magical air forces can win easily.” Veltol looked and listened from the back of the classroom. Everyone was discussing the different rumors. Machina and Takahashi, too, were chatting with a group of girls. Machina’s dazzling looks made her the object of jealousy, but her aura kept other students away—it was Takahashi’s easygoing attitude that acted as a bridge between them. Veltol observed them getting along with their classmates and nodded in satisfaction. Meanwhile, one girl was pretending to be asleep on her desk in the corner of the classroom. “How was it, Hijiki?” Veltol asked her. “Hizuki. And what do you mean?” She turned only her head to look at him. “Were you able to sleep last night?” “Not much. After all that happened and then hearing about Ms. Mag’s disappearance…how could I?” The person who had likely killed her parents appeared before her once again, and the teacher who had supported her throughout her hardships had disappeared. Expecting Hizuki to stay calm would be ridiculous. “I understand. But I am here by your side. No need to fret.” She raised her head, an awkward smile on her face. “Thanks.” Veltol’s voice had the power to put her at ease. However… “For some reason, I just have a very bad feeling.” Anxiety didn’t leave Hizuki’s expression. Meanwhile, Tratte Götel had arrived unexpectedly at Korneah Seburd’s mansion. They typically planned their meetings in advance, following the proper procedures out of consideration for the residents of each other’s section of town. This was not like a visit from the Reynard girl, who held no power in Akihabara. Akihabara was a powder keg. The scales wouldn’t just tip but be flipped entirely over if something happened to either Korneah or Tratte. The abnormal state of affairs had Meral worried sick. He sided with the extremist reformist faction and was part of the City Council as a representative for the Seburd Company. He had fearlessly fought for his current position among the vortex of trickery taking place in Akihabara. His thoughts on the current situation? A war might really break out at any moment. “Lady Tratte! Lady Tratte, please wait!” Meral did his best to remain calm as he tried to stop her from entering the mansion’s main gate. “…” The full-borg elf didn’t even spare him a glance. She attempted to pass through the gate. “Please wait, Lady Tratte! We need to perform a pat down for security purposes. I’m very sorry, but those are the rules—” Right then, Meral received an aether call. “It’s gotta be about today’s news. She’s a member of the Three Houses; let her in.” “B-but…” “Tratte’s not so stupid as to throw a fit here. It’s fine.” “Understood…” Meral reluctantly heeded Korneah’s instructions. “Please, Lady Tratte, let us perform a pat down first, at the very least.” “Haaah… Fine, hurry up,” she spat icily. Meral felt something was off. Tratte’s voice was typically quite gentle for a full-borg, but today she sounded pushy—she felt cold, like a heartless doll. A thought crossed his mind—perhaps someone was pretending to be her. His bad feeling only worsened while a guard gave her a quick once-over. “All clear.” No weapons were found, so Meral had to let her through. They went on to the inspection room inside the mansion. Meral stared intently at the screen in the monitoring room. Any weapons hidden inside her body through modding would be revealed there. However, the results showed no issue. Her mana pattern also coincided with the registered one. Her mana engine was custom-made, not something one could replicate. The device was telling him she wasn’t an impostor. Everything pointed to Meral’s fears being unfounded, and yet he couldn’t shake his doubts. Tratte swung the door open. Korneah was already in the drawing room. She sat down on the sofa before he could greet her. “What is it? We’ve got nothing to do with what happened to Mag Rosanta. There’s no point in resorting to such violent methods in the first place, and you know that.” “Actually, that is not what I’m here to talk about.” “So what is it? Just a little chitchat?” “No.” “Then spit it out already.” Korneah did not expect her following words. “I am here to take the Crown.” Korneah was dumbfounded, his expression frozen in shock from Tratte’s matter-of-fact declaration. “Eh? The hell are you even saying? If this is a joke, it ain’t funny.” “This is no joke.” “Tratte… C’mon. Despite our different positions, you and I both wanna make this city a better place, right? Even Hizuki—” “Oh, enough with that nonsense.” Tratte sighed, genuinely annoyed. The room grew tense. “…And how exactly do you plan to take the Crown?” Meral stood behind Korneah, ready to attack at any moment, as were the guards behind Tratte. Both Meral and the guards had enough combat training. Tratte had no chance against all three of them while unarmed, no matter how expert of a sorcerer she was. There’s nothing to be worried about. No matter what she might be planning, we already checked her for any possible weapons. We’re safe. Any possible weapons. He was forgetting about something blatantly obvious: his assumption that all weapons were visible. He should have realized, but he failed to consider the possibility that she always had an invisible weapon on her person. “How? Very simple. As you know, another person can force you to forfeit possession of the regalia in order to release it from the soul and materialize.” Releasing it from the soul… “I simply have to kill you, and it will be mine.” “Wha—?” Before Meral could reach a conclusion… “I will be taking your Crown.” …Tratte made a move. “Tratte, are you—?” Korneah’s head flew with a splatter before he could finish talking. The next thing anyone knew, she was holding a golden sword. One of the goddess Meldia’s soul fragments, the city’s symbol of power, mythic armament of legend, the regalia: the Blade. Blood was sent flying from the Blade and landed on Meral’s face. The Crown materialized and fell to the floor with a clatter. No one was able to react. “Tratte! How dare you?!” Meral extended his arm after finally making sense of the situation and initialized his magic. The men in black pulled out magi-guns from their suits and took aim. “Wind Cutter!” Meral activated a spell, but Tratte was faster in grabbing the arm of one of the men behind her, twisting it and placing herself behind him. “Gweh!” She pierced the man’s heart from behind and used his body as a shield. The magical blade of wind sliced the man’s metallic body in twain, and liquid aether and lubricant dripped from his abdomen. Tratte kicked it in Meral’s direction. “Shit!” “Guh!” The full-borg’s two-hundred-kilogram body crashed into Meral, and at the same time, Tratte unsheathed her sword again and pierced the other guard’s core unit, ending his life. “Die, Tratte!” Meral stretched out his arm to activate another spell. “You’re too slow.” His arm was chopped in half before he could attack. “Gaaaargh!” He screamed as he fell to his knees. “Agh… Tratte… You imbecile…! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?! You just declared war against Electric Town!” “Hmm? Oh, I guess I did. Uh-huh.” Meral glared at her while holding his arm to try to stop the bleeding, but her face was totally calm. “We’re almost out of time. The higher-ups are impatient. Middle management is hard work,” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed the Crown. “Anyway, war between Magic and Electric Town? Sounds nice. Very nice, in fact. Let’s do it! Lots of people will die! We can solve the population-density problem this way! Two birds with one stone!” “Is this what Magic Town wants?! You will regret this, Tratte Götel! You’ll wish you never defied Korneah’s wishes! You want war? We’ll give you war!” “…Ha-ha-ha.” Tratte placed the Crown on her head and eyed Meral as if he were an insect. “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha… AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!” She left the room, cackling like a madwoman. One hour later, news of Tratte Götel murdering Korneah Seburd was broadcast through all speakers and public channels in Akihabara. “Huh? No way… Mr. Korneah died?” “That has to be fake news.” “But there’s even an official statement.” “Those Magic Town pigs won’t get away with this…” “I’ve been saying we should’ve gone to war to annex Magic Town for ages!” Confusion and chaos. Meral became provisional leader of Electric Town and gathered its mercenaries and Municipal Army, deploying them at the eastern side of Hokoten Avenue. Management of Magic Town’s Municipal Army responded in kind without Tratte’s direction, deploying at the western side of Hokoten Avenue. It was all too sudden. Both sides were in disarray and unrest, and no one could stop the dread from being vocalized in either side. Some were shivering in fear. “Seriously…? I’ve never even been in a real battle!” Some still didn’t comprehend what was happening. “Why are we fighting if we’re from the same city…?” Others were seething with anger. “They’ll pay for this.” The flame of war was about to be lit right before them, no matter their messy state of mind. Not a soul could take it all in. The traditional and modern sides of town were about to clash. Akihabara’s state of emergency was already known throughout school. Korneah’s death was also a major event within Magic Town, but on this side of the city, Tratte’s involvement was kept quiet. The information was intentionally hidden by Magic Town’s top brass; news that one of their own had killed the head of Electric Town would cause a massive scandal, and they hadn’t been able to confirm the truth with Tratte herself. Avoiding any further confusion was for the best. None of that weighed on the minds of most of Magic Town’s populace, however. Simple anxiety spread everywhere, including within Hizuki. She was in the girls’ restroom, staring at her face in the mirror. “Mr. Korneah… Ms. Mag…,” she whispered, voice trembling. Loss and frustration filled her heart. Mag was missing. Korneah was dead. And then there was what happened the previous night. She was losing people close to her, and that made old feelings come back to the surface. “Akihabara is in a category II state of emergency. All students must take refuge in the practice hall as soon as possible. I repeat. Akihabara is in a category II state of emergency. All students must take refuge in the practice hall as soon as possible.” The notice played over again mechanically throughout the school. I need to get out of here, Hizuki thought. She then left the bathroom. “Ms. Reynard.” Someone stopped her right as she exited. “Ms.… Principal Tratte?” It was the black-haired full-borg elf. “You heard about Korneah, right? There’s something crucial we need to talk about, as fellow members of the Three Houses. Please follow me.” “B-but I have to go to the practice hall…” “This is important.” “But…” Hizuki didn’t know what to do. She had a very bad feeling about this, and she sensed there was something wrong with Tratte. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something was off. “Please. You trust me, don’t you?” “…All right.” “Good. Let’s go to the principal’s office.” Tratte led Hizuki down the hall. They passed by other students, all of them heading to the practice hall, visibly anxious. Tratte did not speak to any of them. Usually, she would have tried to put them an ease, but this time, she just walked quickly past. They went through the inspection, then Tratte opened the door to the principal’s office—the door only she could open. They did not talk on their way there. “So what is it?” Hizuki asked, unable to take the silence anymore. Tratte did not take a seat. He stood before the desk and faced Hizuki. “Ms. Reynard, please listen very carefully to what I’m about to tell you.” There was no one in the spacious office besides the two of them. “Ms. Reynard? Are you listening?” There was no one there. “…Who are you?” Hizuki asked the full-borg a question. “Who? What are you saying, Ms. Reynard? I—” “You’re not her.” Hizuki denied it before she could finish. “You’re not Ms. Tratte. I’ve been having this weird feeling ever since I saw you before, and now I’m sure of it. You look like her, but you’re not her.” “What feeling? Don’t you remember? Only my mana can open this room. This place is secured.” Hizuki shook her head. “I don’t know how you got Ms. Tratte’s mana engine, but you’re definitely not her.” “…” The reason was simple. “Ms. Tratte calls me Hizuki when we’re alone.” Silence. “Haaah…” The full-borg broke it with a sigh. “I see, I see. That was a pretty stupid error on my part. Well, not like I could do a lot about it… I’ve been observing you for quite some time, sure, but not when you’re alone…” Tratte…rather, the impostor spoke with a totally different, lighter tone than before. “Who are you?” Hizuki took a step back. “Oh, no, no. Wait,” the woman said while pressing a finger into her neck, rebooting the vocal processor. “Ehm, ehm. How’s it now? Can you tell who it is? Do you even remember me? Maybe you forgot.” The synthetic voice had a thick elvish accent, one Hizuki recognized. “Ms.…Mag?” “Yes. Of course you remember me. We’ve known each other for a long while. It is I, Mag Rosanta. That’s not my real name, though.” “So you were okay…? Huh? But wait, why would you…? What?” Mag Rosanta, mediumship mentor for Hizuki’s class and the principal’s aide. The woman who had reportedly gone missing the previous night. “Why? Why are you in Ms. Tratte’s body…?” She couldn’t comprehend it. Even though she knew the person before her was not Tratte, she still didn’t understand how it was Mag instead. “Wh-what is going on…?” “You still don’t get it?” Mag scratched her head in annoyance. “I’ll break it down for you. First, my quest was gathering all three regalia. Being Tratte’s aide, the hardest one to obtain was Korneah Seburd’s. I had to kill him to complete my quest.” Out of the blue, a golden crown appeared on her head and a golden sword in her hand. Two of the mythic armaments of legend—the Crown and the Blade. “Huh? So…it was you…?” “Yes. I killed him. There was no other way to get this.” She spoke with a calm voice and matter-of-fact tone, the same way she normally did during lectures, as she confessed to murdering Korneah. It brought to mind Mag’s usual attitude. “He was a very cautious man. None of the Guild’s tactics managed to get us close with much ease. But he had one opening: I could tell he lowered his guard around another member of the Three Houses.” The Crown and Blade vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. “…” “So I thought, since Tratte Götel is a full-borg, I can get close to him by just mimicking her appearance. The problem was that I would need the same mana pattern her made-to-order mana engine produced. But how?” “Stop talking,” Hizuki pleaded, but Mag continued: “Quite easy—just steal her body. I even get her appearance without any extra work. So I got close to her, patiently waiting for the right moment, which finally came. I invited Tratte Götel to the mechanical-surgery clinic, removed her brain and spinal units, and replaced them with my own.” Hizuki’s heart was racing. “I had her go through the surgery with her senses forced on, in order to not affect her made-to-order mana engine. I can’t imagine how it must feel to have your head opened up and brain pulled out. She was crying out your name up until the end. She must’ve really thought of you as a daughter, ha-ha!” Hizuki was having trouble breathing. “S-so that’s really…” “Tratte Götel’s body, the one and only! It’s quite pleasant. You can tell how much money she put into it. My sole miscalculation was meeting those two exchange students before getting used to it.” “No! You’re lying!” Hizuki didn’t want to accept it—she couldn’t. She was sure that, at the very least, Tratte and Mag were the only ones on her side in Magic Town. “It has to be a lie! Ms. Mag was so kind, and she and Ms. Tratte were so close… She’d never kill her…!” “Appearances can be deceiving… That’s why you get bullied. You’ve always disgusted me. I hate blonds. Also, Mag’s body wasn’t my original to begin with.” Hizuki couldn’t understand what Mag was saying. “Where’s…her core unit…?” “Who knows? Maybe it turned to dust in the explosion.” “Ah—ah—ah…” Thoughts flashed through her mind at the speed of light. “…See? I told you Akihabara was going to change.” Mag Rosanta’s disappearance. Korneah Seburd’s murder. Tratte Götel’s transformation. The explosion at the mechanical-surgery clinic. The answer to that statement from the previous night. It was all connected. “…Don’t tell me that Faceless person last night…and the one who killed my parents ten years ago… That’s…?” The cruel truth. “Looks like you’ve finally gotten it through your skull. How’s it feel knowing your parents’ murderer was right beside you all along?” Hizuki was hyperventilating. “…!” Everything was blurring before her. She somehow kept her spirit from breaking by clenching her teeth. She managed to prevent her knees from buckling and stop herself from giving in to grief and despair—instead turning those emotions into hatred for the person who had killed her parents and defiled her guardian’s body. “I can’t have you wasting time being shocked. You’re going to help me out with my quest.” “I’m not helping you with anything!” She had to escape. That was her top priority. Hizuki had overcome difficult situations like this before—she convinced herself she’d be fine. “No—you will.” Mag opened a holodisplay in front of her, showing the students gathered at the practice hall. “So these are your hostages…?” “Good thing you got the hint. I’ll kill them all right now if you refuse to help me.” Hizuki didn’t care about any of these people. But then three faces came to mind. The three people she’d met just the day before, three people even less familiar to her than her other classmates. And yet, that was more than enough for Hizuki. Mag exited the principal’s office, and Hizuki followed in silence. All students and mentors in school were gathered at the practice hall. The atmosphere was rife with tension. “I’m scared… What’s gonna happen now?” “It’ll be fine; if push comes to shove, I’ll take care of it myself.” “You there! Stop talking and stand in line!” As soon as everyone gathered, one uninvited guest appeared in the practice hall. She slipped into the crowd with total ease—no one suspected her for a moment. She was of small stature. She wore all-black clerical clothing, a veil covering her eyes, further hidden by a visor atop her nose. Only her mouth was showing. The veil also covered the Familia on her nape. A brunette student nearby noticed her and said, “You’re…not a first-year student, are you?” The mysterious girl showed no reaction, only lifting her arm. Her Familia allowed her to omit construction, expansion, and incantation, and so she proclaimed the maginom: “Gallef.” Compressed aether formed one short spear of deep aquamarine. “Wha—?” The spear flew at the brunette. It was already right before her eyes by the time she noticed. “Eek!” The nearby silver-haired student pushed the paralyzed brunette aside, the spear piercing her head instead. Blood flew as her corpse collapsed near the entrance. “Noooooooooo!” The brunette student’s scream echoed throughout the hall. “Apolfos.” Before the fear spread further, four swords of light, the same deep-aquamarine color, appeared around the mysterious girl. They pierced the nearby students, but their wounds did not bleed. Instead, the swords shattered, then another sword of light appeared on top of each of their heads, like a cursor above a video game character. All emotion disappeared from the marked students’ faces. Their bodies were lifeless, but they didn’t collapse—they simply stood there like puppets. “Nobody move.” A voice echoed, as though spoken through a megaphone. Unlike a megaphone, the voice didn’t resonate through the air. Rather, it reached everyone’s brains directly through the aether, similar to the effect of Whisper magic. The voice didn’t belong to the girl in black; it came from a student marked by a sword of light. “What…? I-is this an attack from Electric Town…?” someone asked.