The MCA was considered a black box by modern standards. Yet, the man sitting in front of Tatsuya had already decoded it. Tatsuya realized once again that Yugen was an outlier—a genius so far beyond the norm that nothing he did could be considered surprising anymore.
"So, Yugen. You mentioned a powerful bombardment?"
"Based on my analysis, the attack used a magic that decomposes water into hydro-oxygen gas and ignites it to cause wide-area explosions."
Yugen had actually "read" the Tuman Bomba during the Scorching Halloween incident. He already understood its nature, the technology behind it, and its effects, but he didn't see the need to reveal that level of detail yet.
"How is the power?"
"In terms of single-point firepower, it's far inferior to Material Burst. However, this magic can be ignited at multiple points simultaneously to overlap its power or bomb a massive area. The results are nearly identical to the magic used on the outskirts of Moscow recently. We should assume it's the same magic, just dialed down."
Comparing anything to Material Burst was inherently unfair, but since Tatsuya's only other frame of reference for Strategic-Class magic was Heavy Metal Burst, Yugen let it slide.
"You might think it's overkill for a single ship, but... I'll tell you now since the military likely hasn't leaked it yet: three days ago, Leonid Kondratchenko and Igor Andreivitch Bezobrazov met at the Black Sea base. Two 'Thirteen Apostles' meeting, followed by this incident three days later? It's no coincidence. Tatsuya, there's a high chance you'll be summoned to provide long-range support."
"I thought as much... I was considering that possibility while you were organizing the data."
"Does this mean the NSU is invading?" Miyuki asked.
"I don't think it's a full-scale invasion, but I intend to be prepared for anything."
Yugen knew the military was intentionally withholding information from Tatsuya. When he checked with Kyoko, she had actually apologized for it. Regardless of personal politics, Yugen was the one who gave the final authorization for Tatsuya's Strategic-Class magic.
If anyone tried to take Tatsuya's fiancée or family hostage to force him to use his magic, Yugen was prepared to storm in via Mirror Gate and send everyone to the afterlife with Meteor Line. If they broke legal ethics for greed, he would meet them with extrajudicial force. He suspected he had inherited that trait from his mother.
"Now that Tatsuya has been identified as a member of the Yotsuba, the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion will likely try to keep their distance."
"...Because of my Material Burst," Tatsuya noted.
"Exactly. I'm officially attached to the Army General Headquarters as a Special Lieutenant General, so I might have to accept General Soga's proposal."
When Yugen was promoted earlier this year, General Soga—or rather, the interests through him—had brought up a second offer alongside the matter of Chief of Staff Otomo. They wanted to transfer him to the Joint Military Command.
The problem was the Zuikaku and the Zuiho. These two aircraft carriers, built under Yugen's orders, were a headache for the brass. Carriers fell under the Navy, but carrier-based aircraft fell under the Air Force due to current military law and personnel scales.
The "uniformed" faction at the Ministry of Defense had noticed that Yugen, the man behind the project, was a special officer in the Army. Their solution? Give him ranks in the Navy and Air Force too. As a result, the soldier known as "Tatsuzo Kamijo"—Yugen's military alias—now held the absurd titles of Special Lieutenant General of the Army, Special Admiral of the Navy, and Special Major General of the Air Force.
Soga had originally intended to keep the ranks at Major General, but after seeing Saeki's movements, he pushed Yugen to a rank even Retsu Kudou never achieved. The Navy, wanting to match that for the commissioning of the Zuiho, promoted him to Special Admiral. The Air Force was currently plotting to make him a Special General. When Yugen heard this from Soga, he could only sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Tatsuya asked.
"The adults are fighting. Because of their pettiness, I hold general-class ranks in all three branches. They're non-permanent, but they do pay... I didn't want the promotion; I just wanted to develop and analyze magic equipment. Soga proposed transferring me to the Joint Military Command because of it. I've put it on hold for now."
The Air Force and Navy ranks hadn't been disclosed to the 101st Brigade or the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion yet—the brass feared they would either get cocky or go rogue. The Ministry of Defense was also struggling with how to handle the anti-Ten Master Clan and anti-Kudou groups. Yugen had recently been summoned to the Ministry only to spend the afternoon listening to the Defense Minister's childish complaints.
When the Prime Minister found out, he had physically punched the Defense Minister and made him join in a formal dogeza apology. Yugen's twitching smile during that scene wasn't his fault; it was just the déjà vu of seeing Mari punch Mayumi.
"Since they aren't permanent positions, I can quit whenever I want. But for your sake, Tatsuya, I can't cut ties with the military completely. In the worst-case scenario, I'll have to pull Special Lieutenant Ooguro—you—out of your unit and make you my personal Assistant Chief of Staff at General Headquarters, just like in Okinawa."
According to Seria, in the original future, Tatsuya cut ties with the military after the Bezobrazov and Lina incidents. But given the nature of Material Burst, Yugen believed Tatsuya should have a public social standing.
The rule established at the Clan Conference about "not being deeply involved with the military or government" was a contradiction from the start, considering Retsu Kudou, the one who proposed it, held massive influence over the National Defense Army.
"Is that to provide a pretext for using Brother's magic publicly?" Miyuki asked.
"Essentially. Trying to forcibly manage something that can't be managed is a recipe for disaster. Regardless of what the NSU does, I'm telling you now: I will use my authority as a Special Lieutenant General to authorize the use of magic by Special Lieutenant Tatsuya Ooguro and the deployment of Third Eye Eclipse."
Since the NSU's movements didn't look like a full-scale invasion yet, this incident felt more like an "exercise." However, since emotions can steer events in unpredictable directions, Yugen had no intention of placing limits on Tatsuya this time.
"I see... how far should I go?" Tatsuya asked.
"Winning too hard is its own problem. Maybe just 'Decompose' the welds on their ships and sink one? That should give the NSU soldiers some good exercise. If we can block their magic, we don't need to do more. If it comes to it, I'll deliver the finishing blow."
Tatsuya didn't need to carry the whole burden. Yugen could support him with long-range magic; if necessary, he could turn the entire fleet to ash with Phoenix. It might sour relations with the NSU, but that was the fault of an NSU government that refused to admit to the Sado incident. They had no right to complain.
If you pull the trigger, you have to be prepared to get shot back.
In a normal world, holding multiple high ranks would be impossible. But considering the non-permanent nature of the roles and the delicate handling of the two carriers and their planes, Yugen ended up with this mess.
As I've mentioned before, the core principles of magic are only partially explained in the original novels and sequels. Therefore, much of the theory here is based on my own logical deductions. Given the differences between Ancient and Modern magic, it's highly likely that the structure of the sequences, the catalysts, or the thought processes involve a mechanism for controlling 'Information.' The interactions between Yakumo and Tatsuya in the original provide some hints toward this.
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