In a briefing room at the National Defense Land Army Base—a space currently requisitioned as the temporary headquarters for the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion—Major Kazama sat listening to a report from Kyoko Fujibayashi. Even for a man of Kazama's composure, the contents of the report were beginning to give him a headache.
"The unit tracking the Australian operatives who checked out of the hotel has reported in. They've been neutralized," Fujibayashi stated, her voice devoid of emotion. "Zero fatalities, but the entire squad is incapacitated."
"Enemy reinforcements?" Kazama asked.
"No. It appears they were hit by a magical attack from the primary targets themselves."
Kazama narrowed his eyes. The pursuit team was highly trained; they had successfully cornered the targets, yet failed at the final moment of capture. He had accounted for the possibility that the targets were military mages, but it seemed they were more formidable than anticipated.
"Describe the magic used," Kazama commanded.
"A high-concentration ozone gas attack. The team members are exhibiting symptoms of paralysis."
"I see... Sanada, your thoughts?"
Sanada, who had been standing by, offered his analysis. "This is just a conjecture, but I suspect it was 'Ozone Circle'."
The incident had occurred outdoors. While other spells can generate ozone gas in confined spaces, a spell capable of rapidly generating such high concentrations across a wide outdoor area pointed toward the Strategic-Class Magic, 'Ozone Circle.'
Fortunately, Sanada had already studied materials regarding 'Ozone Circle.' Yugen had provided them to him previously as part of a joint research project on atmospheric convergence magic. Ordinarily, Japan would have no way of knowing the Activation Square codes for a European Strategic-Class spell, but when Yugen had explained that he "learned it after being targeted by it once before," his words had carried a weight of truth that Sanada hadn't questioned.
"An Australian mage using 'Ozone Circle'?" Kazama mused.
"It's not as strange as it sounds," Sanada replied. "While it's famous as the signature magic of the UK's William MacLeod and Germany's Carla Schmidt, it was originally developed by the European Union before the split as a countermeasure for the ozone hole. Under the pre-split agreements, the magic sequences were shared among member nations. It wouldn't be surprising for a mage from Australia—part of the British Commonwealth—to have access to it."
This implied a high probability that either Jasmine Jackson, James Jackson, or both, were mages of the Australian military.
"Fujibayashi, have you identified them yet?"
"Not yet, sir. However, based on the Psion sensor records, we estimate the caster was Jasmine Jackson."
"The young girl?" Kazama asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice.
"Or perhaps," Fujibayashi countered, "a mage who simply takes the form of a young girl."
Kazama's expression grew pensive. He didn't doubt his lieutenant's intuition, especially since her concern mirrored the unease expressed by Yugen and Tatsuya during their earlier meeting. Kazama had personally seen mages whose appearances didn't match their years, though he had rarely heard of it manifesting as a young teenager.
"Yugen and Tatsuya voiced the same concern... and there are precedents, rare as they may be," Kazama muttered, before shifting topics. "What about the group that interfered with the Great Asian Alliance's unit?"
"Identified. They are graduates of First High on a graduation trip. Furthermore, Colonel Hans Ernst of the SSA military was present at the scene."
"Ah, that's right. The eldest son of the Isori family was invited to the Nishi-Kashinshima completion ceremony. Colonel Ernst isn't scheduled to link up with us until tomorrow, so it's understandable he wouldn't know the specifics of our situation."
Kazama let out a short, dry laugh. Relations between Japan and the SSA were smooth, and the SSA President was a known Japanophile. Knowing Hans's own favorable disposition toward the country, Kazama judged the encounter to be a simple coincidence.
"Fujibayashi, continue the background checks. Sanada, focus on locating the enemy's main force."
"Understood," Sanada replied.
"I already have them on the aerial surveillance cameras," Fujibayashi added. "They won't escape."
"Excellent."
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