He didn't have the chance to pin him down with another magic, however. As Minoru unleashed the ball lightning, the enemy also cast "Qióngqí" himself.

  Cursed winds swept over Minoru, forcing him to prioritize his magical defenses against them. At which point his ears caught the sound of the "Magic Flute" once again. The other Daoshi must have caught up with him. The wind-user Daoshi alone was challenging enough, Minoru stood little chance if he had to face the flute-playing Daoshi at the same time.

  (Maybe now is time for the "the smartest thing in a tight situation is retreat " strategy.) To begin with, he didn't come to Tibet to fight. Besides, he already got what he came for.

  Minoru shot up to 1,000 meters in the sky using Mock-Teleportation, and then searched for a suitable landing spot. Then, with a series of additional Mock-Teleportation runs, he jumped out of Lhasa.

  39

  His final stop was a vacant lot by the roadside on the southern bank of the Lhasa River, which flows east-west to the south of the palace. He moved about five kilometers away from his former location.

  He moved only five kilometers away out of concern that he might stand out too much if he went to a place with too few people. Takachiho was already nearing the horizon from his ground level perspective. Minoru decided that it would be better to wait for Takachiho's next approach before returning to space.

  (What was the deal with those guys, anyway…?)

  He was fully aware of the high probability that he would come in contact with magicians of the GAU, especially those of a high-ranking ace class, if he sneaked into Tibet. He believed himself to be mentally prepared for such an occasion. But the talent of the magicians he came across were beyond his expectations. Even more unexpected was the approach of their abilities.

  Neither the "wind-user" nor the "flute player," as he called them, had much magic raw power themselves. The "wind-user"'s "Qióngqí" was limited to single targets, and since it probably uses air currents as its medium, its range was short and its speed was slow.

  And there was the "flute player's" "Magic Flute," which was remarkable in terms of the number of targets it could affect. However, it left more people kneeling than it actually did rendered unconscious.

  Compared to Lu Ganghu, who was associated with Zhou Gongjin, it is fair to say that he is a lower rank in terms of battlefield performance. That said, Minoru never directly witnessed the power of Lu Ganghu himself, so this is only a guess based on hearsay.

  However, as anti-personnel combatants, their magic was a threat. The magic of those two bypassed Minoru's defenses and inflicted damage on him despite the fact that Minoru had been prepared for an attack.

  Minoru has a high resistance to both physical and mental attacks. And it was no boasting of his. His battle record proved it; Minoru had never struggled thus far, not since he faced Fumiya Kuroba of the Yotsuba Family, his grandfather (the late Kudou Retsu), and Tatsuya.

  (I wasn't trying to underestimate them, but…)

  Slightly shaking his head, Minoru shelved his regrets for the moment and regained his composure. He extended the radius of his passive magic perception powers to a radius of kilometers and probed his surroundings. Moments later he noticed an information body within this new radius.

  40

  (I guess they wouldn't let me get away with this easily…) Minoru muttered in his mind. The information body was a familiar from the enemy Daoshi. It was equivalent to what is referred to in Japan as Shikigami.

  It wasn’t a single information body ─ familiar. He detected only two of them at first, but now the number has increased to six.

  The familiars approached at a considerable speed in a radial fan-like formation. They couldn't trace Minoru's [Mock-Teleportation], instead they must have had a general idea and released many familiars to search in that general direction. This was an orthodox approach to scouting by systematically using "numbers".

  Regardless of the fast approaching rate of the familiars, it was nothing that

  [Mock-Teleportation] couldn't outrun. But Minoru did not choose the escape option this time.

  Minoru has confidence in his ability to use "Mock-Teleportation" in a normal capacity and leave no traces at all. In fact, when he responded to Tatsuya's call to a hotel in Berkeley, California, the other day, the USNA's authorities failed to detect any signs of his coming and going ─ from Takachiho to the ground, vice-versa. Not even that States were able to detect Minoru's Mock-Teleportation.

  Yet, his current pursuer, whose identity is still completely unknown to him, managed to.

  They might be able to trace Minoru's return to Takachiho in some unknown way since

  [Mock-Teleportation] is, after all, not truly a magic of instantaneous travel.

  Even at the time of closest approach, when Takachiho is near its zenith, it takes about 10

  seconds to make a single trip. Once it gets near the horizon, from the ground perspective, the time required is nearly twice as long.

  Vast may be the knowledge he absorbed along with the spirit of Zhou Gongjin, but even that spirit wasn't thoroughly versed in all of the Shénxiān and Taoist arts. Therefore, even if the magic itself may be unperceivable, there is an undeniable possibility that remnant traces of the movement process could be picked up.

  Takachiho's security is paramount, even if it comes down to a worst-case scenario in which he is temporarily entrapped. Minoru would only return to space after he was sure that he cleared his pursuers.

  Now, to shake them off or to intercept them.

  Minoru chose to shake them off. He affixed the charms he had prepared in advance to both legs and took off running. Those are the Taoist techniques [Shinkonhou]

  appropriated from the knowledge in Zhou Gongjin's spirit. Since his opponents are also

  41

  Daoshi, who use the same system of ancient magic, they will most likely notice Minoru's flight attempt, but the odds of being caught in a pincer movement or ambush are nevertheless lower than if he stood still in the same place.

  He headed off the riverside road and into an undeveloped hilly area. Although he moved at speeds ranging from 40 to 50 kilometers per hour, the familiars flew much faster.

  Minoru attempted a course that avoided direct line of sight for the familiars, but they were still less than a minute behind him. But that ultimately only lasted less than a minute before they caught sight of him again.

  While running, Minoru tried to destroy the familiars that were getting too close.

  As it turned out, with the simple non-systematic-type magic, a psion bullet, he was able to easily destroy the pursuing familiar. No particular special technique necessary. There wasn't even a trap built in that inflicts a curse upon destruction.

  Minoru felt dejected.

  That changed really fast in the next moment, as the enemy Daoshi with the iron fan suddenly appeared where the familiar disappeared.

  Seemingly appearing where the familiar once vanished, through something similar to

  [Mock-Teleportation]. Perhaps it was a built-in process in the familiar that emits a signal with its coordinates at the time of disappearance.

  He couldn't deny that he had been caught by surprise.

  And yet, both Minoru and the Iron Fan Daoshi launched their attacks at the same time.

  Minoru, ball lightning.

  The Daoshi, a cursed wind blade.

  This time, the Daoshi didn't block the ball lightning with the iron fan in his right hand.

  Instead, he spread out a second, folding fan on his left hand, which then became his shield. It was large like the ones often used on stage or drama plays, with a usual bamboo frame and surface made of paper.

  Certainly, a fan made of paper and bamboo doesn't conduct electricity. But Minoru did not remember launching an attack that could be blocked by a mere piece of paper.

  (As I thought. These guys…!)

  42

  They are specialized in anti-personnel techniques, Minoru concluded. To add to the unspoken portion of his thoughts, Minoru surmised that the "Iron Fan" and the "Magic Flute" Daoshi were both specialists in interpersonal magic combat of the GAU's forces.

  The large fan in his left hand was most likely a magical tool that was given the properties of a shield against magical attacks. The surface of the fan is covered with minutely inscriptions. Which means that the fan is probably a talisman in its own right.

  (So, they have taken thorough precautions while still chasing me.) Minoru mused as he repelled the enemy's [Qióngqí] cursed wind with his [Hex Reversal]

  barrier.

  Then, he gave a faint, ruthless smile.

  The enemy Daoshi couldn't hide his confusion. Maybe it was the curse process in the wind blade that was rebound. Or perhaps it was surprising to see Minoru's use of the Taoist barrier.

  He wasn't the only one who made preparations against the opponent's attacks; just as Daoshi had arranged a shield against the four systems and eight types of modern magic mid-pursuit, so had Minoru against Taoist based attacks.

  Unfortunately, the psychological impact was less than Minoru had hoped for. Soon the

  "Iron Fan Daoshi" got his nerves under control and charged at Minoru.

  His speed in his approach and the sharpness of his steps rivaled Tatsuya's as far as Minoru's experience. If it weren't for his previous fights with Tatsuya, Minoru would certainly not have been able to handle himself as well as he did. Managing to deflect each blow from the iron fan as well as the accompanying shockwaves. Minoru realized that he had been lucky for the poor foothold on the roof earlier.

  His opponent was clearly superior in hand-to-hand combat. Any magic directly cast would be nullified by an unidentified counter-magic, and any magic attack using physical phenomena would be blocked by the fan acting as a shield.

  His only saving grace is that "Magic Flute Daoshi" didn't rush in with him. It was only a matter of time until it happened, however. Minoru's defeat would be inevitable if he continued to engage in an honest to a fault head-to-head battle.

  Perhaps, if Minoru had been still a human, the match would have already been long over. He sat through and took the Daoshi attack head-on. Thanks to his Parasite's super-recovery capabilities, Minoru came out still standing.

  But that would not hold forever. He felt that the ensuing shockwave, whose nature was as unclear as the counter-magic, was gradually dampening the parasite's regenerative 43

  power. Perhaps the enemy wasn’t so much a specialist in anti-personnel magic combat as an expert in exterminating inhuman demons such as parasites.

  At any rate, it would only get worse if it continued like this. Minoru thought as much.

  There was never the need to defeat his pursuers to begin with.

  Escaping was the goal, not victory. His objective was simply to shake them off completely. In light of this, the current situation was undesirable.

  Continued hand-to-hand combat with the "Iron Fan Daoshi" and sooner or later, the

  "Magic Flute Daoshi" would eventually show up as well. That would pose some serious challenge to his escape.

  Drastic measures were necessary to break out from this situation. Unless he was willing to be a little risky, he would not be able to overcome this. So Minoru took the plunge.

  He erected a shield at an angle that would catch the next attack of the iron fan.

  Ignoring the incoming shockwave and the damage it would cause, he kept the magic shield in place and backtracked step by step.

  Magic that directly affected his enemy was still out of play. Magic shields, however, that blocked the physical attacks of the enemy, fulfilled their purpose without a hitch.

  Although the enemy Daoshi was able to nullify the magic acting on him, he could only do so to magics acting directly on him. Consequently, Daoshi couldn't get past the shield, and the distance between him and Minoru widened.

  Minoru didn't believe that he could keep his enemy pinned as is. All he needed was this ten paces in between them.

  The accumulated damage from the shockwaves had entered the danger zone. There wasn’t much room to spare. Aware of this, Minoru promptly activated the magic he had readied during his backward retreat.

  The target wasn’t "Iron Fan Daoshi". It was the ground under his feet.

  The ground exploded. The thick layer of earth, from one to two meters below the surface, suffered a rapid upward acceleration that blew away the stratum and the sand above it with an explosive force.

  The enemy's Daoshi was sent flying along in the air by this magic that disregarded any efficiency. The ground he was standing on was blown away. Even if the magic was nullified, there was no way he could prevent himself from being covered by the blown earth and sand. His enemy was launched nearly two meters into the air, dropping in along with the sand and dirt he was sent flying up with, burying him halfway through.

  44

  The concussive force of the explosion wasn’t enough to incapacitate a first-rate soldier, however.

  The "Iron Fan Daoshi" would be soon springing up from under the earth and sand and would resume his attack.

  Minoru didn't take it as an opportunity for a follow-up attack.

  He activated another series of short-range [Mock-Teleportation] to make his escape.

  His sequential [Mock-Teleportation] moves brought him around the hills, back into the city center of Lhasa.

  It was 50-50 that he would be able to elude the enemy. For the time being, at least there was no sign of either the "Magic Flute" or the "Iron Fan" Daoshi, nor any other enemy magicians in the urban area he had blended in with.

  Minoru made his way to the train station across the street on foot, using a combination of [Parade] and [Kimon Tonkou] to board a stationary train bound for Ching Haii. He didn't have a boarding ticket, but neither did he need one. He could have easily swiped a ticket along with the ID, but he again saw no need to go through the trouble. He wanted to shake off the pursuit in any case, he simply hopped off the train before the ticket check.

  Unfortunately, things didn't go so smoothly.

  He heard a commotion from the car ahead. Judging from the snippets he could pick up, it sounded like a soldier from the GAU military boarded for a checkpoint inspection.

  Now that's cheap, Minoru grumbled in his mind. If those Daoshi are really magicians from the military, it was natural, or rather inevitable, that they would be checking any train or self-propelled vehicle leaving Lhasa. As much as he hated to admit it, he underestimated the GAU.

  Regret stalls thinking. Delaying the next action.

  By the time he had moved to exit the train, he recognized the approaching steps as the presence of a magician.

  It was someone other than the two Daoshi who attacked him beforehand.

  Maybe that's why he noticed them so late.

  45

  Was it because he unconsciously limited his enemies down to just those two, that was why he did not notice until they were so close? Pushing these self-reproaching thoughts to the back of his mind, Minoru searched for a way out of the train.

  The aisles were full of people. If he had to wade through them, he would not make it to the exit beyond them in time. His only alternative was to jump out of the window. It didn't take him long to reach that conclusion.

  Ignoring the shouts of protest, Minoru shrugged off the hands that grabbed at him and moved towards the window.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another passenger heading for the adjacent car. Probably to inform the soldiers at the checkpoint. He could no longer take the luxury of time.

  Minoru reached for the window frame. Fortunately, it wasn’t a fixed shutter. He flung it all the way open at once.

  Just as he did so, footsteps thumped above his head. It was the sound of someone jumping onto the roof of the train.

  The next moment, the whistle of a flute resounded through the car.

  Followed by the music, magic assailed indiscriminately.

  As passengers crouched, some fell to their knees, and others fell down to the ground, Minoru climbed a foot on the window frame and jumped out of the vehicle.

  A large contingent of soldiers gathered here and there on the platform ahead of the train's departure. One of them fired without warning at Minoru as he jumped out of the window.

  The side of the train was made swiss cheese with bullet holes.

  With a shield raised with the pointing of the gun, Minoru came out unscathed.

  Unfortunately, however, the stray bullets left a trail of victims.

  He raised from his crouching landing position. Turning his head, he spotted one of the Daoshi, the one who looked like a small boy, playing his flute on the roof.

  The music should have been audible to the soldiers who fired earlier, but they showed no sign of being affected by the magic. The range of the magic interaction apparently doesn't coincide with the range in which the music can be heard.

  The flute notes ceased momentarily, then restarted with a different tone. Must have been a change of music.

  46

  Simultaneously, the magical effects cast along the sound was also changed. Minoru immediately knew what it entailed.

  It went from inhibiting mental faculties to inhibiting the construction of magic formulas.

  Specifically, it seems to be very effective in clouding magic targeting.

  Minoru felt it wasn’t strong enough to completely suppress his magic. But he hesitated in casting long-range "Mock-Teleportation".

  By restricting the amount of information he can get about the destination, this magic effectively obfuscates the target. It is the informational distance, what and how much you can determine about a target, rather than the physical distance, which governs the effectiveness of magic. In that sense, if a target is at a visual distance, but with restrictions on the information that can be gathered, it might as well be beyond the horizon.

  It is almost as if the magic was chosen to block Minoru's means of escape. No, they must have chosen their repertoire based on their evaluation of Minoru's means of escape so as to block them.

  Fortunately for Minoru, hidden by his trousers, he still has his [Shinkonhou] talismans affixed to his shins.