The day of the Steeplechase Cross-Country arrived. Women's races were scheduled for the morning, men's for the afternoon, but the situation remained precarious—not due to First High's overall championship being at risk, but because of the Parasite Dolls.
(I can't exactly say that out loud… What's this?)
Careful not to draw attention, Yugen moved to the back of the tent (having told others he was napping for the afternoon) and used Osiris Sight of Tenjin to scan the training forest course. He noticed something neither a trap nor a Parasite Doll infiltrating the course's perimeter.
Analyzing it, he found it was similar to a Parasite Doll but enhanced. His communication terminal rang, and picking it up, he heard Tatsuya's voice.
"Yugen, are you free now?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yeah. Calling me directly means something's up, right?" Yugen replied.
Tatsuya had been busy with CAD adjustments and stepped away, citing fatigue. No one questioned his absence as the women's event neared. The entity Yugen detected showed no signs of movement, but he couldn't let his guard down.
"'She' sensed something, but I don't have the bandwidth to deal with it," Tatsuya said.
"Hm… I'll ask Sensei to keep an eye on it," Yugen offered.
"That'd help," Tatsuya replied.
Mindful of potential eavesdropping, they kept it brief, and the call ended. Yugen emailed Yakumo to discreetly monitor the perimeter weapon, just as the monitor showed the women's Steeplechase runners starting. This signaled Tatsuya, clad in the Strike Suit, entering the training forest.
Yugen watched the monitor while using Osiris Sight of Tenjin to track the perimeter entity.
(No movement even with Tatsuya in the forest… The speed at which he's neutralizing Parasite Dolls is unreal.)
With Pixie's support, Tatsuya's pre-supplied weapons, storage, and, if needed, Tenba Spirit Gear ensured low chances of failure. Even if the enemy noticed Pixie and sent mercenaries, Gozo was guarding her maintenance vehicle—a fact Yugen had shared with Tatsuya, so there should be no issues.
◇ ◇ ◇
The runners navigated a barely altered training forest, far from a straight path. A few from First High surged ahead: Miyuki, Yume, Erika, and Himeri. Shizuku stayed back to ensure Kanon and Honoka didn't overdo it.
"Hey, everyone, watch that swamp! It might have rope traps!" Erika warned.
"Thanks, Erika-cchi. Got experience with this?" Yume asked.
"I trained for traps at my family's dojo and got New Shadow Style swordsmanship training through Yugen's connections. No knockout traps here, so it's manageable," Erika replied.
"That's intense…" Himeri murmured.
The four sensed psion wavelengths ahead. Miyuki knew her brother was handling it. Though Tatsuya was her guardian, she wished he'd hold back a bit. Her strongest desire was for him to rest, given his exhaustion. Noticing her mood, Erika spoke up.
"Miyuki, Tatsuya-kun will be fine. I can't imagine him losing," Erika said.
"…Hehe, you're right," Miyuki replied.
Reinvigorated, Miyuki pressed toward the goal. They spotted a disabled gynoid but dismissed it as training debris and moved on.
Tatsuya neutralized 16 Parasite Dolls in exactly five minutes. His improved skills aside, the absence of Prime Four—coordinated-action Parasite Dolls—helped.
The Women's Steeplechase ended with Miyuki in first, Himeri in second, Yume in third, and Erika in fourth, as they'd planned.
◇ ◇ ◇
After lunch, the Men's Steeplechase Cross-Country began. First High, without Monolith Code runners, seemed to have an advantage, but this was due to prioritizing magic skill preservation and safety, not worth fussing over.
Yugen had spotted the enhanced Parasite Doll before the women's event, and Yakumo reported during lunch that it had been moved to the course's latter half. Yugen informed Toya, Shuji, and Leo, the lead runners.
"Fortunately, the Steeplechase course has limited visibility. If we reduce Nibelheim Flare's power, we can slow them down," Yugen said.
"The issue is resealing. Can you handle it, Yugen?" Shuji asked.
"No oversights there. We stick to the plan and take the lead," Yugen replied.
Only Yugen, Shuji, Toya, and Leo sensed the Parasite Dolls' presence among those nearby. Leo raised a question.
"Yugen, is it really okay for me to just follow you three?" Leo asked.
"No offense, but in raw skill, you're the lowest. So, please bear with it," Yugen said.
"Yeah, I get that. No objections," Leo replied.
The Men's event began, with the four leading as planned. They destroyed traps, branches, and nets along the way, but Yugen occasionally cut trees and tossed them into the air—toward Third High's course, Toya noticed, sweating.
"Uh, isn't that against the rules?" Toya asked.
"It's not a direct attack, and there's no rule against cutting and throwing trees. Plus, thinning helps the forest grow stronger," Yugen replied.
"No one would think to create natural traps," Shuji muttered.
Yugen had confirmed with organizers that non-direct attacks were permissible. Flying players was a foul, but other objects weren't restricted. Destroying pre-set traps was possible, but Yugen shrugged off responsibility for that.
Past the course's midpoint, Toya sensed Parasite Dolls approaching.
"Yugen, they're closing in," Toya said.
"Looks like it. Let's end this quickly," Yugen replied.
"Got it," Shuji agreed.
Toya unleashed Nibelheim Flare toward the sensed presence, slowing the Parasite Dolls. Against the enhanced combat-designed gynoids, Shuji used magic and physical techniques to disable them, leaving Leo, who'd done nothing, sweating.
"Seriously, I've got nothing to do," Leo said.
"This isn't a normal competition. You're a stand-in for interfering mages, if you want to put it nicely," Yugen replied.
While reassuring Leo, Yugen aimed his gun-shaped CAD, using Osiris Sight of Tenjin to rewrite and reseal the Parasite Dolls' formulas with Gohou Shikijin. This spell, based on Tendai sect summoning, was an upgraded version of the "Honzan" formula Yugen had mentioned before. Having another sealing spell, he'd shared this with Yakumo.
Yakumo had remarked, "This makes me feel irrelevant," so the spell's details were kept exclusive to him to prevent leaks to the Traditionalist faction.
Tatsuya's Elemental Sight was recognized as a perception spell, requiring direct confrontation, but Yugen's Osiris Sight of Tenjin, linked to Kaleidoscope, nullified enemy detection. Thus, superpowers weren't omnipotent if Yugen wasn't sensed. This matched his Parasite Incident predictions, a fortunate outcome.
"That's 24… Any more?" Yugen asked.
"No sign of them decreasing," Shuji replied.
"What the hell's going on?" Leo muttered.
Expanding his search beyond the course, Yugen was stunned—36 more remained. A double push seemed tame by comparison. As they hadn't activated, Yugen aimed his CAD at their direction.
"Sleep forever," he declared.
Using Tensho Kenran to erase the Parasite Dolls' sealing formulas, Yugen reapplied Gohou Shikijin. Then, via his communicator's Yata no Kagami, he targeted the command tower managed by the Kudou family, activating the strategic-class Ozone Circle. It wouldn't kill but induced temporary comas to avoid traces. Residual ozone was neutralized with Decomposition.
"…I'm exhausted, in every way. We're not lab rats… Oh, the goal already?" Yugen said.
"We blazed through so fast I forgot. Shuji and Leo handled the traps," Toya said.
"Good work, Leo," Yugen added.
"Uh, thanks… Didn't do much, though," Leo replied.
Shuji burned through traps, Leo deflected paint bullets with hardening magic, and Toya forcefully snapped ropes. They were a sight to behold.
The Men's Steeplechase results: Yugen first, Toya second, Shuji third, Leo fourth, as agreed. Leo had requested tying with Erika to avoid complaints about ranking too high.
◇ ◇ ◇
First High, securing the overall championship, celebrated at the after-party. Tatsuya, a standout engineer, joined the festivities.
Yugen, disliking the noise, rested in the garden. The dance session was hectic, but a First High-exclusive celebration awaited. As he contemplated resting, an unusual visitor appeared.
"Oh, Erika and Celia? Looking for someone?" Yugen asked.
"Sort of. Seen Leo? He slipped out of the hotel, according to Celia," Erika said.
"I saw him leave the entrance but told him to return for the celebration," Celia added.
Unlike the original story, Leo, a First High representative, couldn't skip the celebration. Erika's urgency, prompted by Celia, had another reason.
"Ernst Rosen approached Leo. I couldn't see clearly, but it looked like he handed him something. Know where he is?" Erika asked.
"A call would work, but… seems like communication's jammed," Yugen said.
Trying to contact Leo, Yugen got a message indicating an unreachable location. With no time to be picky, he used Osiris Sight of Tenjin to search, starting from the Steeplechase course area.
"Found him. He's near the center of the Steeplechase course," Yugen said.
"What are the Defense Forces doing? And Leo, wandering out at night like this… What, Celia?" Erika snapped.
"Just thinking, Erika, you're pretty smitten with Leo," Celia teased.
"Huh!? W-Why that… Whatever, let's go after him!" Erika retorted.
Blushing as she recalled something, Erika ran off to hide her embarrassment. Yugen and Celia followed. The lack of guards and disabled sensors suggested the Defense Forces, likely under Ernst Rosen's influence, were complicit. Yugen sighed inwardly.
"Still, Onii-chan, Erika's probably done for—ow!" Celia yelped as Yugen flicked her.
"Don't meddle in their love life. Let's catch up before Leo's taken," Yugen said.
"Got it!" Celia replied.
Recognizing Erika's self-acceleration spell, Yugen and Celia activated theirs to follow.
Honestly, Yugen wished foreign forces, like the Parasite Dolls, would learn some restraint.
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