First High School
8-10 / Eighth day of the competition
What the...
...heck are these?
I've inscribed magic circles on those mantles and robes.
Magic circles?
Right.
They'll operate under the same theory as Engraving Magic via an Ancient Magic medium.
Those two have the supplementary effect of enhancing the potency of the wearer's magic.
So, what exactly are we going to use them for?
By the very nature of its magic,
Cardinal George's Invisible Bullet has the flaw of requiring visual confirmation of his target.
By using these, we should be able to block the spell.
Ah.
The committee has already inspected our devices,
so there's no violation here.
Tatsuya...
You do know that the final is going to be held on the Open Plains Stage?
Yes.
You'll have to take on Ichijo,
whose forte is bombardment, on an open field with no cover...
Will you be all right?
Shiba, do you have a strategy?
If he were to fight using his normal tactics,
to be honest, we wouldn't stand a chance against him,
but since Ichijo seems to be inordinately obsessed with me...
If I can force him into close combat, there's a chance.
Brawling is forbidden, though.
I just have to keep my hands off.
There is a way.
I've prepared.
I've done all that I could.
Still...
If this were an actual battlefield,
and we were to clash with no limitations on either side,
facing those two at the same time would be...
No, even if Masaki Ichijo were my only opponent,
at this moment I can't say with confidence that I'd beat him.
Brother, here's a towel.
Thanks.
Brother...
Today is the day of the final.
I'm sure that your next opponent will be quite formidable...
Yes, that's true.
And you must fight with your powers and skills restricted...
As someone among the ranks of those who imposed those limits,
I know that it's not my place to say such a thing,
and that it may even be unpleasant for you.
But even so, I believe that there's no one who can defeat you, Brother.
Now what am I going to do? Seriously...
Apparently, I can't afford to lose this next match.
Rookie Event Monolith Code Finals First High School vs. Third High School
What's that? What's that?
Erika, come on...
Hey, we do look like fools in this get-up, don't we?
You should use them just as I explained earlier.
Why only us two?
I'm in the vanguard.
How could I manage wearing something so unsuitable for running?
Dammit, I just know she's laughing her head off now...
Oh, boy, talk about side-splitting!
There are spirits swarming around Yoshida's robe.
It's probably just a bluff.
No, it's not a bluff.
He knew about George...
It might be a countermeasure against the Invisible Bullet.
True, that spell has no penetrating power,
but it's still not something you can block with a piece of cloth.
I don't think he'd confront us with such a tepid strategy.
I don't get it.
Who ever thought he'd still have a secret weapon up his sleeve?
Brooding over what we don't understand isn't going to get us anywhere.
Besides, a piece of cloth like that is no threat to our victory.
Chairman Kudou!
What brings you to a place like this?
What can I say...
I've discovered a youngster who's quite intriguing.
Third High School First High School
How incredibly bold...
Under all that pressure, to be able to churn out those spells with such accuracy!
Is he really a Course 2 student?
Tatsuya's attacking less and less...
Because the closer he gets, the more he has to go on the defensive.
It's going to get harder from this point on.
In the previous matches,
he used Non-Systematic Magic and Weight-Type Magic,
but now he's using Oscillation-Type Magic.
Did he really alter the structure of his Activation Sequences in a mere two hours?
As planned, I'm going in, too!
Right, leave the rear to me!
I have no choice.
Looks like he finally can't get away with holding back anymore.
You're taking this too lightly, sir.
To fully detect both the early signs of magic activation
and those invisible air bullets with just his five senses would be impossible, even for Tatsuya.
Besides, in this situation,
a valid case could be made that he used a sixth sense, rather than Elemental Sight.
You think?
True, he should be able to deceive those lightweights...
...but I'm not sure that he can fool those esteemed eyes over there.
So that cloth can be used that way!
If that's the case, I can't use my Invisible Bullets!
Dammit!
What the...?
Illusion Magic?
Take that!
Masaki!
Oh, crap! I didn't adjust it!
At this rate,
I'll end up killing him!
Nine Schools Competition Part IX
Tatsuya!
The force I just used was in violation of the rules.
What did I just do?
Rib fractures, rupture of the liver arteries, massive hemorrhaging also likely.
Diminished combat capacity, now dropping below tolerable levels.
Self-Restoration Sequence, auto-start.
Loading Magic Sequence.
Reading Core Eidos data from backup.
Restoration, now starting.
Complete.
What...
What in the world was that?
He must have snapped his fingers and amplified the sound.
I would concur.
By rupturing his eardrums and damaging his semicircular canals
with that high-decibel sound wave, he must have incapacitated Ichijo.
That was obvious at a glance!
That's not what I'm talking about!
Wasn't Tatsuya defeated just now?
Tatsuya had to have been severely injured by Ichijo's illegal excessive attack,
so why was he able to get up again?
Saegusa, calm down.
I've heard that among the ancient martial arts Shiba is so adept at is the ability to strengthen the body.
The knowledge we possess is not the be-all and end-all of this world.
Magic spells aren't the only miracles.
Forget that for now.
The match isn't over yet.
You're right.
I'm sorry.
It just never gets old!
The sheer speed of his Self-Restoration is beyond human cognitive speed.
Oh, hey, I'm just kidding.
I never saw Tatsuya Shiba casting the Self-Restoration Spell that's clearly beyond his abilities.
Yes, sir, his resilience is otherworldly, that kid.
So intriguing.
That still doesn't make it right to use him as a lab rat.
He's a valuable asset, one of only two in this country,
and one of a rumored fifty or so in the world, after all.
Although I doubt that he's such a weakling that he'd fall apart after a few experiments.
It's not a matter of whether he'd fall apart or not!
Well, be that as it may...
Just like you said, he used it, didn't he?
Yes, as expected, engaging an opponent like Ichijo with such a low-spec CAD was too tall a task.
I wouldn't blame him for using Flash Cast.
Flash Cast, huh?
Calling up the Activation Sequence from memory, rather than from a CAD.
The speed of that technique is a sure threat.
Especially in his case, by storing the Magic Sequences in memory as images,
he can effectively bypass the process for building Magic Sequences, never mind Activation Sequences.
Is there anyone in our squad who can activate that sequence faster than he just did?
I think Yanagi, who commands the same skillset, is the only one who can barely equal him.
Masaki... lost?
Kichijoji! Get out of the way!
You did it, didn't you, Tatsuya?
I can't lose...
If Tatsuya defeated the Crimson Prince...
...then I'm going to at least take out Cardinal George!
Not again!
Dammit!
Take that!
Curse you!
So I ended up losing, huh?
First High School
We won... right?
Yes, we've won.
Yes! We won!
We've won the Rookie event!
We did it!
Still, you totally stole the spotlight.
Was that your plan all along?
Only in my dreams, man.
I'm telling you, I was immobile for a while there.
The last time I got slammed like that was two years ago, when I got hit by a big motorcycle.
Man, did I get my clock cleaned that time!
There was a kid behind me, so I couldn't get out of the way.
So I just grit my teeth, and the next thing I knew - BAM!
There was no way I was getting out of that unscathed,
so I did end up with three cracked ribs.
Well, today wasn't as bad as that. It was a breeze by comparison!
Uh... Leo?
Just to be sure, let me ask you one thing...
Those Compressed Air Bullets...
you were blocking them with Fortifying Magic, right?
Actually, it's embarrassing, but I was so into attacking,
that just as you figured, I had zero defenses up in time.
I'm totally ashamed of myself!
Then... are you saying that...
You just withstood Ichijo's attack magic with your own body?
Hey, it was too much for me.
That's why it took me so long to get up.
Hey, your lip is bleeding, Mikihiko.
Are you all right?
Uh, yeah.
I'm totally all right.
Come to think of it, are you okay, Tatsuya?
Sorry, could you say that again?
I asked if you were okay, Tatsuya...
Yeah...
I've got a ruptured eardrum on one side.
I can't hear very well right now.
Never mind that, Mikihiko...
What's the matter?
You look like you've just seen an UMA.
Uh, wait...
So that means you couldn't hear what we've just been talking about, Tatsuya?
My bad.
Right now, I'm only managing by reading your lips.
Well, I did get the part where Leo mentioned being hit by a big motorcycle.
And those words didn't raise any questions in your mind?
Questions? About what?
Mikihiko...
What the heck is the matter?
You're so gloomy all of a sudden.
I mean, we won. Victory is ours!
Victory!
You're right...
Brother...
Nine Schools Competition Part X
NEXT TIME