A short distance from where Tatsuya and Katsuto were engaging the enemy, Mikihiko monitored the spiritual turbulence. It didn't take long for him to realize who the Parasite was actually hunting.
"This is bad. It's after Erika..." Mikihiko muttered, his expression tightening. "Did it figure out she has no way to fight back?"
In close-quarters combat, Erika Chiba had long since surpassed the skill level of a mere high schooler. However, against an invisible opponent launching attacks from a distance, she was effectively a sitting duck. Mikihiko knew this—and presumably, Erika understood it all too well herself.
"Yoshida-kun, please lower the barrier."
"Shibata-san?"
Mikihiko was racking his brain for a solution when Mizuki suddenly spoke. His instinct was to refuse; he had no desire to expose her to further danger. Yet, the unusual steel in her voice and the intensity of her aura stopped the denial in his throat.
"Lower the barrier? What are you planning to do?"
"I'm going to use my eyes."
"You want to look at the Parasite? That's too dangerous! It might switch targets to you."
"I know that," Mizuki replied, her voice trembling but firm. "But I feel like I have to! I can't explain why... but with everyone fighting for their lives, I can't just hide here in safety."
Mizuki was painfully aware that she was not suited for combat. Until now, she had never stepped onto the front lines. But this time, something told her that passivity was not an option.
Mikihiko considered it for a moment, then reached into his jacket. He handed her a small object.
"Wear this around your neck. If the worst happens, it should protect you."
"Understood."
Once Mikihiko confirmed she was wearing the talisman, he dissolved the barrier. Instantly, Mizuki's unique vision cleared, revealing the spiritual entity lunging toward them.
"There!"
She pointed toward the source of the invisible threat. A tentacle-like appendage lashed out from the direction she indicated. Mikihiko moved to intercept, but before he could cast, a slug of non-systematic magic slammed into the tentacle, blasting it away.
"Tatsuya!"
"I think we've done enough standing around," Tatsuya said, his voice flat.
"Shiba. Yoshida. We finish this now," Katsuto commanded.
Tatsuya and Mikihiko nodded in unison. Mikihiko likely wanted to complain that "finishing it" was easier said than done, but with a senior from the Ten Master Clans and the irregular Tatsuya Shiba by his side, the impossible suddenly seemed plausible.
"Mizuki, move back," Tatsuya ordered. "You'll be safe behind the senior's defenses."
"Yes!"
Understanding that the area was now a kill zone, Mizuki obeyed without hesitation.
"Let's go," Katsuto said.
"Right."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Confirming Mizuki had evacuated, Katsuto signaled the advance. Mikihiko still harbored a trace of fear, but he answered with resolve.
While the three young men battled the Parasite nearby, the girls were cornering Lina with questions that had been weighing on their minds.
"So, what is your relationship with that woman, really? You sure you aren't an accomplice?"
"I told you already!" Lina shouted, exasperated. "I didn't realize Mia was being controlled by a Parasite!"
"But you lived right next door, didn't you?" Erika pressed. "And you didn't see anything suspicious?"
"Mia and I weren't that close. We had tea occasionally, but it's not like we were hanging out all the time."
"If the Parasite that was possessing her abandoned her body," Miyuki interjected calmly, "does that mean she is no longer of any use to it?"
Erika had hesitated to voice that specific darkness, but Miyuki spoke it aloud without batting an eye. Because she usually stood quietly in Tatsuya's shadow, it was easy to forget: Miyuki, too, possessed a ruthlessness that was far removed from that of a normal high school girl.
"I don't know..." Lina faltered. "Even in the USNA, we don't fully understand the Parasites yet."
"How useless," Miyuki murmured.
"Don't sound exactly like Tatsuya!" Lina snapped.
Having been called useless by the brother earlier, and now the sister, Lina couldn't help but raise her voice.
"Leaving that aside," Erika said, steering the conversation back, "since the Parasite is here with me and Mizuki... doesn't that confirm this spot is the target?"
"Probably," Lina admitted. "But Tatsuya and Katsuto have locked down its movements, and Mikihiko is holding his own. We should be fine, right?"
"By the way, Lina," Erika asked, glancing at the unconscious woman. "Is she... alive?"
From what Erika had seen, when the Parasite exited Michaela's body, the woman had effectively exploded. Yet, miraculously, there was no external trauma. There wasn't even a speck of dirt on her.
"She's alive," Lina confirmed. "She's just unconscious. Her breathing is steady."
"But it's strange that she's unharmed after an explosion of that magnitude," Mizuki said, puzzled. "Do Parasites have some kind of residual healing skill?"
Mizuki, whose nature made it difficult for her to doubt others, genuinely believed that. Erika, however, suspected a different possibility.
(The one who saved this woman was probably Tatsuya. And he did it in a split second... Just how much pain did he have to endure?)
The explosion had been powerful enough to blow limbs apart. If Tatsuya had used his innate magic to reverse that damage on Michaela at the epicenter, the phantom pain transmitted to him would have been excruciating—beyond Erika's imagination.
(He acts so cold all the time, so why show such humanity only at a time like this?)
Erika knew that saving a life wasn't a bad thing. But she couldn't reconcile the logic of going to such agonizing lengths to save an enemy—someone who had tormented them and tried to kill them—from their own self-destruction. Even if the woman had only been a puppet, Erika couldn't understand Tatsuya's heart.
"...ka. Erika."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening."
"My brother and the others have repelled the Parasite," Miyuki said. "It's safe to move now."
"Really? As expected of Tatsuya-kun. Sending a monster like that packing."
The girls rejoiced, relieved that the immediate threat was gone. However, the boys—Tatsuya and Katsuto—were not satisfied with the result.
They had wanted to destroy it, not merely repel it. But fighting without effective countermeasures meant this was the best outcome they could achieve for now. They kept their dissatisfaction to themselves; revealing it would only make the girls anxious.
"Now then, Lina," Tatsuya said, turning to the blonde agent.
"What is it, Tatsuya?"
"We are handing custody of her—Michaela Hongou—over to the Jumonji family for questioning."
"...Understood. In exchange, I request permission to be present during the questioning."
Hearing her proposal, Tatsuya glanced at Katsuto.
"Very well," Katsuto rumbled. "However, you will only observe. You are not permitted to speak."
"...I can accept those terms."
Faced with Katsuto's undeniable pressure, Lina had no choice but to submit.
As for Erika's reaction... was it mere frustration at her own helplessness, or was it perhaps jealousy?
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