Gouki had brushed them off. He argued that as the strongest and the one with the highest survival rate, he belonged at the front. He wasn't just commanding an army; he had organized a militia of volunteers.
The Ten Master Clans existed to protect the interests of magicians, and their subordinates were their "citizens." Having stepped outside the confines of the military structure, Gouki viewed his men as "comrades" bound by the same mission. This sense of duty had been passed directly to Masaki.
There was also a practical reason for their presence: naval magic was a specialized field, and even among the Ichijou retainers, few could handle it. Magic, by principle, acts upon a single phenomenon or object. Isolating a specific part of a larger object to alter it requires immense technical skill. In the terminology of modern magic, manipulating a specific part of a vast, continuous information body in the "Idea" dimension is one of the greatest technical hurdles.
For instance, the Ichijou's "Rupture" magic rapidly sublimates liquid into gas. It isn't limited to the human body; it can target fuel, lubricants, or even seawater. To an Ichijou magician, the ocean is an infinite magazine of explosives.
However, no matter how skilled the magician, they must consciously "cut out" a portion of the sea to target it. This is why area-of-effect magic is harder than point-target magic; the "continuity of information" is the key. The ocean, with its psychological weight of being "endless," is harder to manipulate than a simple air bullet.
In the case of "Ancient Magic" (specifically the Tenjin style), the process involves "blanking" the psion information of the target first, severing its continuity with the surrounding environment so it can be perceived as a discrete object—like water in a glass.
Naturally, Masaki and Gouki—who had mastered these nuances—were the only logical choices for the scouting party. The suspicious vessel—a small cargo ship—was now visible even without binoculars. It wasn't attacking or maneuvering; it seemed to be merely drifting.
But after the disguised landing craft of the Yokohama Incident and the hidden docks in Okinawa, Gouki refused to let his guard down.
Sinking the ship from a distance would be easy and safe. But Gouki wanted the truth. Five years ago, the NSU had played innocent because there were no prisoners and no identified bodies. While the return of those bodies had later caused chaos within the NSU, diplomatically, Japan had lost. Gouki would not let that happen again.
"Scouting team, move out!"
At Gouki's order, five young men, including Masaki, leaped from the ship. These were the elite—chosen for their combat prowess and survival skills. George remained on the ship to provide overwatch.
"Masaki, be careful."
"Keep my back, George."
With a quick exchange, Masaki "ran" across the surface of the sea, his team following suit. They reached the cargo ship without meeting any resistance and boarded the deck. The silence was unnerving. Masaki spoke into his radio.
"George, can you see anything from your end?"
"The cameras aren't picking up any heat signatures or movement. Based on the telemetry, I think it's an automated drone ship."
A ghost ship, Masaki thought. Just as the realization settled, George's voice crackled back, urgent and fast.
"...Masaki! The sensors are detecting a flammable gas leak on your deck!"
Masaki checked his wrist-mounted multi-detector. The concentration was high.
"Everyone! Deploy barriers and evacuate the vessel immediately!"
It was propane. Heavy, lingering, but a strange choice for a trap. Even if the ship were full of it, propane has a low upper-explosive limit; it wouldn't create a world-ending blast.
Masaki's team dove back onto the water. On the armored ship, Gouki and his men felt a momentary sense of anti-climax.
That was the moment the trap sprung.
A massive surge of magical interference erupted. Gouki, sensing the activation from the bridge, turned pale.
"Magical signatures... on the sea surface?!"
There had been no warning. Before George could even finish his sentence, countless magic sequences were projected onto the water surrounding the armored ship. Masaki, standing on the waves, saw them too.
"FATHER!"
An instant later, the sea exploded.
It was as if thousands of naval mines had detonated simultaneously. A wall of pressurized water and fire slammed into Masaki's team, sending them tumbling through the surf and into the depths.
When Masaki breached the surface, his vision was a blur of salt, smoke, and spray.
"DAMMIT! FATHER!"
Masaki unleashed a gust of wind magic to clear the white mist. His father's ship had taken a brutal hit to the stern, but thanks to its heavy armor and (Masaki assumed) his father's multiple layers of barriers, it was still afloat.
But then, a voice filled with raw, unbridled panic screamed through his headset.
"Masaki! Are you okay?!"
"George! I'm fine, just blown back... what happened?"
"It's Lord Gouki! He's—you need to get back here, now!"
"Father...? I'm coming! George, breathe! Calm down!"
Forgetting to even issue orders to his subordinates, Masaki raced back across the water toward the crippled ship. The "ghost ship" remained silent, its purpose fulfilled. The flammable gas had been nothing more than a lure to get the magicians off the deck and onto the "minefield" of the sea surface.
The flow of this chapter follows the original light novel, but I've added Gouki's struggles as a father and the lingering shadow of Yugen. If Masaki had realized that his 'over-attack' during the freshman Monolith Code finals years ago was the turning point for his reputation, things might have been different... but regret always comes too late.
Regarding the 'Reminiscence' arc, in the original, Maya Kuroba (Mitsugu's wife, mother to Fumiya and Ayako) had already passed away. However, in this timeline, I've kept her alive, so the Reminiscence events will reflect that.
Also, making Masaki use magic in a duel against an opponent where it was technically a foul, only to get thrashed anyway... Yugen really does have a mean streak (and I mean that as a compliment).
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