Tatsuya slammed his fist on the wooden table, splitting it into halves as soon as Maya left. He was once again powerless against Maya, this time allow her to grab Mayumi away from him right under his nose. After fixing the table with his Regrowth, he dashed straight into his basement to suit up for the battle that is sure to come. He swung his leather jacket around his back and grabbed Trident out of habit and stared at it for a while before putting it back where it was. For the longest time, he used Trident mainly to mask his ability to Flash Cast magic sequences but that was no longer required of him. For the first fight in his life, he was no longer had any restrictions, no Pledge to limit his Psions and no identities to hide. It was the first time he can fight as his true self for what he truly wanted – to save Mayumi.
He was getting more anxious with each second his Clairvoyance refuses to pick up the location of Mayumi. Pacing around the room, he took out the Hliðskjálf and scoured it for information desperately. He found the declaration of war on Koichi which he naturally assumed was by Maya along with the attached address. Without second thoughts, he hopped on his motorbike and made a mad dash to the given address which he was all so familiar with – the Yotsuba main residence. He had rushed out so fast even Miyuki had no chance to ask him where he was headed to.
(Scene Change)
The closer Koichi was to the designated address, the heavier his sighs became. He knew that the region he was in was firmly under the influence of the Yotsuba clan and the address is bound for an undeveloped field which based on his clan's intelligence was supposedly the Yotsuba main residence although it was never confirmed.
He was never more sorrowful to see the doors to the house open as he stepped out of his car and walked into the Yotsuba main residence. After all, since Maya invited Koichi she thought it would only be polite to show a welcoming gesture by opening the doors before he arrived although he was bound to be killed soon.
The Yotsuba main residence exuded an aura of darkness meant to intimidate, but that did not make Koichi cower in fear. He walked in his usual gait, full of confidence and power, down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, he met the final door which was the only thing between him and Yotsuba Maya and pushed it open without a moment's hesitation.
"You came faster than I thought, didn't do many preparations did you?" The light was sucked out of the entire room as soon as the door opened, ensuing nothing but darkness. Maya stood directly between Koichi and Mayumi as she sought to dictate the fight from the start.
"I'm sure you didn't have anything special prepared for me too. We both know each other far too well to be opponents, don't we?"
Maya chuckled at that comment as it resurfaced old memories she once shared with Koichi back when they shared a rather close relationship. There was no denying that they shared earnest feelings for each other and was bound to be together if not for that incident, instead now they are about to kill each other out of vengeance.
"We do indeed, so why don't you bring out your magic? Don't you want to at least see me amidst the darkness?"
Punching several buttons of his CAD created flashing flames, floating around him in a flickering dance. "We just aren't compatible, even right down to our magic. Guess we just weren't fated to be together until the end, even if the incident didn't happen." Koichi's magic revolved mainly around the basis of light which was in direct contrast with Maya's magic which revolved around the basis of darkness. Koichi's orbs of flame revealed the beauty that is Maya, standing in front of his daughter, carrying a sinister smile with a lust for blood.
"Say, you were really determined to see the downfall of my clan, weren't you? So much that you wanted to use our dearest, most respected teacher to pit against me as well."
"It was truly for the better good and of course, it was the final step in getting your boy into my clan. You wouldn't give him over to me over your dead body, won't you?"
"Your hunch is on point as always, I cannot help but be impressed, but don't you also know that I don't fall so easily? It's not like you to underestimate me so much."
Koichi broke out in laughter upon hearing Maya. It was not that he underestimated them, it was just that he was too unlucky. He would never have guessed that he had a spy who was working right under his nose, much less the fact that Maya too had a Hliðskjálf. The fact that it turned out the way it did was nothing short of unlucky and his ill luck was going to cost him his life.
In response, Koichi activated his CAD to cast Arrow of Light, shooting arrows straight out of his flames in the direction of Maya.
Maya swiftly summoned her dark orbs and manoeuvred them to assume a defensive position by creating a shield to block the arrows. "Such petty attacks won't work against me, you know that as well as I do. We use to spar, don't tell me that this is all you are capable of."
"Didn't you always complain to Sensei that I came at you too hard during our spars?" Koichi returned Maya's taunt with another of his own. Truth be told, Koichi had not had a duel in ages and was somewhat rusty so he wanted to start off slow to warm himself up. He had to admit that he was past his prime and was in the worst condition possible for this duel since he had taken a back seat and retired from the front lines ever since his oldest son took over.
"I did, didn't I? But perhaps it is time for you to complain instead." Maya scattered her orbs around the room, showering webs of magic in Koichi's direction to begin her offence.
If not for the light Koichi's magic provided, it would have been impossible to dodge Maya's attack. Koichi cast a defensive spell of his own, providing himself with a shield for the attacks he couldn't dodge. As Koichi had expected, Maya's offensive firepower was a force to be reckoned with. Slowly but surely, Maya was overpowering Koichi bit by bit. He was forced to take on defensive stances more often, inching toward the edge of the room as he did so. He knew he needed to break free of this situation so he had no choice but to expose a trick up his sleeve earlier than he would have liked.
The flames levitating around Koichi abandoned their defensive stances and converged to form a big, collective flame which radiated brilliantly in the darkness of the room. It abruptly extinguished, returning the room to a state of eerie darkness, with Koichi nowhere in sight.
Maya was not impressed with Koichi's cheap trick at all, although the magic did catch her off-guard since she had not expected Koichi to use such a cheap trick against her. It was a novice attempt at a distraction, one that will never work against Maya even in her sleep.
"Manipulating light rays… Any decent magician who has even the slightest affinity to light can do that, yet you dare pull this off against me?" Maya genuinely felt insulted by Koichi's magic as she dispelled it with a snap of her finger, revealing Koichi once more.
It may not have fooled Maya, but that was not Koichi's intention from the start. He had just wanted to reposition himself even for a bit such that he would not be backed against the wall and become a sitting duck. Then again, he also knew that such a cheap trick can only be used once against Maya, the next time he pulls this stunt he will very well be dead.
Maya's anger fuelled her relentless barrage of attacks, as she continuously positioned her orbs to fire magic sequences in rapid succession, once again forcing Koichi to defend for his dear life. It soon became as one-sided as it could possibly get, with Maya not bothering with her defences at all since Koichi was too preoccupied to defend himself to even attempt to attack. Slips in Koichi's defences started exposing themselves as fatigue wore Koichi down and Maya exploited them to the fullest as she drew the first blood of the contest.
(Scene Change)
Tatsuya sped down the street in a sleek fashion on his black motorcycle, advancing at full speed to where Mayumi was held captive. Hot on his heels were international spies and members of the media who have been following him ever since his identities have been publicised but he could not care less about them for his sole aim was to rescue Mayumi and he dedicated all his attention to it. However, that did not stop him from realising the presence of magic he was under. As the road in front of him started to blur out, Tatsuya relied on his Clairvoyance to understand his current situation.
He came to a screeching halt as a vehicle suddenly appeared in front of him, barely avoiding the collision. Out of the vehicle came a man whom he had seen in the past, a very prominent man in the magic society that no one will fail to recognise, the Patriarch himself was standing in front of him.
"Young man, I believe you are off to rescue the Ojou of the Saegusa clan but do you not feel that it is too rash of you?"
Tatsuya bowed his head out of respect for Kudou Retsu before replying, "Sir, she may not have much time left if I do not hurry, for I know how ruthless my family is."
"You have not given any thought as to what happens afterwards, it is not like you to be impulsive. Have you not realised the role you play in this entire situation? Not even after I handed you the Hliðskjálf?"
Tatsuya held his silence to cool his head. It was true that he had not thoroughly thought this over and he took an impulsive approach toward this matter and now that he has cooled his head, even he was a little surprised at his actions. At the same, he was equally surprised that Kudou Retsu was the person in the shadows who has been secretly helping him.
"There is no fire without a spark; unless we get rid of the spark the people will never be satisfied, will they?"
"I understand your point, but even when I use the Hliðskjálf I am still unable to find out who is instigating all the protests."
"From the 9SC to the Scorched Halloween and the Uprising of the Dead, it was all part of Jiedo Heigu's masterplan from the start. You need to string the pieces of the puzzles together and find out who it was. Do you still not yet understand why only you can play such a pivotal role? Only you have followed through every phase of Jiedo Heigu's plans, you are the person who is the most informed and involved. You are the only person who can track down and stop the culprit."
Tatsuya wrecked his brains as he tried to piece together all the information that he had. He was positive that the No Head Dragons and Blanche were not involved since he had more or less rooted them out of Japan, which leaves only Jiedo Heigu and his trusted right-hand man Zhou Gongjing. Jiedo Heigu was captured and personally disposed of by Maya, so there was no mistaking his death. Zhou Gongjing was supposed to be dead since he had sacrificed himself to Jiedo Heigu before the fight with Maya. The only problem was that there was no actual confirmation of his death, his death was boldly assumed by Maya. If it were anyone, the most likely candidate for the mastermind would be Zhou Gongjing but it as a mere suspicion that cannot be confirmed. For all he knew he could just be running around in circles chasing a person who is long dead.
"Doubt kills, trust yourself and believe in your hunch. I'm not sure if it will help, but here's something that was recovered after the battle had ended. Zhou Gongjing was presumably sacrificed at that spot, so the chances are high that it belonged to him." Kudou Retsu handed Tatsuya a piece of cloth that was torn off.
Even after receiving Kudou Retsu's help, Tatsuya was still uncomfortable in capturing Zhou Gongjing. Stopping the protests can wait for later but saving Mayumi is an immediate need, for every second he stalls is a second closer to Mayumi's death.
"You want to save your lover, I want this entire protest to end, so how about we make a deal. You get rid of Zhou Gongjing and I will make sure Mayumi-chan doesn't die. You can count on my word."
Having Kudou Retsu's words made him more at ease since even Maya and Koichi would have to respect Kudou Retsu's words. He accepted the deal without much hesitation, in fact, it was more than what he could ask for. Now, Mayumi was probably in a safer position than she would otherwise have been in.
"Now go, I will handle the people following behind you." Kudou Retsu said as he went back into his car, moving it out of the way for Tatsuya to speed to his next destination.
(Scene Change)
Following the lead that Kudou Retsu gave him, Tatsuya ran around the entire city to look for Zhou Gongjing. Even with the help of Clairvoyance, Tatsuya was still just running around in circles for the past hour and not making any progress whatsoever. He decided to remain rational and ran through all the happenings so far. The only possible suspect that may still be alive is Zhou Gongjing unless this was not part of Jiedo Heigu's masterplan. The latter has only a very slim possibility of occurrence but it is not to be ignored. Tatsuya had no choice but to continue to investigate to the best of his abilities.
Tatsuya poured more effort into finding Zhou Gongjing, allocating more Psions to Clairvoyance to maximise its output. Surveying the whole city at once, he narrowed the possible locations to three, all of which he had checked in the previous hour but found nothing. Nevertheless, he decided to check it once more as he made his way to the first of the three suspected location.
With his Clairvoyance amped up to the maximum power, he once again surveyed the first location to find something that he had previously missed out on. A patched of grass slightly stained with blood which Tatsuya used Clairvoyance to trace, revealing Eidos history associated with the sample of blood. He found the target that he had been chasing but the only problem that he was a step late, Zhou Gongjing had already been murdered the previous day by someone else.
The more he dug into the case, the more mysteries there were to unfold. Now it can be confirmed that Jiedo Heigu along with all his accomplices had nothing to do with the current situation, in fact, it totally went off the script that Jiedo Heigu had drafted. Someone else has been assuming Jiedo Heigu's role to direct the situation in his place and Tatsuya knew that he had to find out who it was fast, or else even Kudou Retsu may not be able to hold off Maya from killing Mayumi. Then again, the odds were stacked against Tatsuya. How can he find out who the perpetrator is without even a hint or a starting point of sorts? He did not even have a list of suspects in his mind. Once again, he ran through all the events leading up to this point, filling all the blanks that he once had with newly attained information. Somehow, everything matches up but it points to no suspect as if it was a perfectly executed crime. Yet, even in perfection lies suspicion. It was exactly because everything fitted too perfectly that made Tatsuya even more suspicious. The timing in which Koichi made his press conference, the timing when he had received the Hliðskjálf, the timing when Kudou Retsu stopped him on the streets. Somehow both of them always seem to be ahead of him by a step and only one step, as if they were pacing with him. They were never too fast or too slow.
At long last, Tatsuya had a clear idea of what was happening. He hopped onto his motorcycle but just before he drove off, he had a sudden afterthought. If Koichi and Kudou Retsu were indeed in working in the same league, then they could have just removed the patch of blood-stained grass and their plan would have been impeccable. Knowing them, it would have been impossible for them to be so careless, so it must be intentional that they had left it there. There must be more to be unravelled.
(Scene Change)
Maya's thrill for battle reached it's peak when she drew first blood against Koichi. A slow, painful death for Koichi seemed inevitable, but Koichi knew all he had to do was to hold out. Everything may not have gone exactly as he has planned, but he was still confident in his success. For one, fighting Maya for a prolonged period of time was something that he had time and again tried to avoid while he was going about his plan and it had always been his most feared and despised part of his plan. He found it disgusting that Maya could be intoxicated by the sight of blood. Such cruelty and twisted mind cannot be comprehended by a person like him who doesn't ever do the dirty work of drawing other's blood himself.
Even as Koichi switched to a full defensive mode, he was still suffering from innumerable blows showering down from all directions. He was in dire straits but was still hopeful since he knew help would arrive at any given moment.
As if on cue, both Maya and Koichi started to feel the presence of a third magician, one that they both were familiar with. Their teacher, Kudou Retsu has finally made his presence known by using Parade. He masked his location with the magic as he retrieved Mayumi from being held hostage from right beneath Maya's nose.
"This girl, it would be a waste if she had died at such a young age." Kudou Retsu said as he temporarily cancelled his magic to make him visible to both Maya and Koichi.
"You finally arrived, Sir." Koichi was more than delighted to see Kudou Retsu, for he was the 'help' that he had been waiting for. All of this, minus the parts where Maya tortured him, was all part of Koichi's plans. Both Koichi and Kudou Retsu teamed up to bring demise to the Yotsuba clan. From the start, they had noticed the works of Jiedo Heigu since they both had the Hliðskjálf and had decided to work together to make the best out of the situation. All the events that unfolded in succession were well planned and executed at just the right timing to keep Tatsuya guessing for as long as they could, but what they did not expect was for there to be a spy. Having Nakura as his suspect, Koichi wanted to test him and set up a meeting with Kudou Retsu and purposely gave Nakura the opportunity to backstab him. Of course, he was revealed at once and was removed. They even managed to feed Tatsuya information that would keep him guessing through giving him the Hliðskjálf.
Maya caught onto the whole situation quickly but she was still not willing to accept her downfall. Maya once again shrouded the entire area in darkness, she was going to struggle until the end like the warrior that she is. Yet, neither Koichi nor Kudou Retsu made a move against her. None of them wanted a fight to begin with. Kudou Retsu activated Parade to mask their locations to dodge all of Maya's attacks as they started to make their way out of the Yotsuba Residence.
"Ground Zero!" Tatsuya unleashed his new magic, a re-upped version of Gram Demolition that detonates a large amount of Psion which then acts as a large wave of interference magic meant to cancel out all magic over a large area.
Tatsuya's appearance was definitely not part of Koichi's plan, but he had no reason to panic. Koichi wanted to keep Tatsuya safe so that he can be assimilated into his clan, but he also knew that Tatsuya does not go down so easily and can probably survive a couple of hits.
"In the end, there aren't many loose ends to tie up. The protest would stop after today regardless of what happens, wouldn't it? The perpetrator has already been rid of, all that is left is some covering up and this whole mess would be cleaned up." Tatsuya said, staring straight at Saegusa Koichi as he used partial Mist Dispersion on Flash Cast to blow up Koichi's left arm.
As Koichi grimaced in pain, Kudou Retsu applauded Tatsuya. "So, you have solved the whole mystery, good job." His comments earned him a bloodshot stare from Koichi who was shaking in anger. He had been betrayed by Kudou Retsu, a man that he respected so much.
Kudou Retsu had followed Koichi's plans with no intention of bringing downfall to the Yotsuba clan to begin with. Although he complied and carried out the plan for the most part, he intentionally left behind the patch of blood-stained grass in hopes of Tatsuya picking up on his intentions. He had even warned Tatsuya to be calm and think things over before he acts to make sure that he would pick up on the hints left behind. That being said, Kudou Retsu had no ill-intentions toward the Saegusa clan either, he had just wanted to stop Koichi from using the Yotsuba clan as a scapegoat. In order to effectively stop Koichi, mere words were not enough. He had to foil Koichi's plan and even then, render him unable to counteract. That was where he needed Tatsuya to step in since he knew that he alone was not enough to stop Koichi from counteracting.
"Tatsuya, you may hold a grudge against this old man but he definitely cannot go without one of his arms."
On Kudou Retsu's request and the nudging of Mayumi who had been thus far too traumatised to speak, Tatsuya used Regrowth to recover Koichi's arm
"Regarding the cover-up operations, I have already made plans. Maya, you have already relocated to a new residence, didn't you? So I hope you wouldn't mind allowing me to blow up this place as a façade."
Activating Parade and with a little help from Tatsuya's small-scaled Material Burst, a small explosion levelled the entire residence, leaving behind a few fake bodies that were mere illusions of Parade.
"From this day forth, both clans shall return to their original state. The Yotsuba shall return to the shadows, remaining in absolute secrecy. The Saegusa shall remain active to promote peace and fight for the rights of magicians. As your teacher, I forbid both of you to ever cross paths again." Kudou Retsu pointed at both Maya and Koichi as he left no room for negotiations.
"I deeply regret having involved the both of you in the folly of my students, on behalf of them and as their teacher I apologise. I suggest that you both leave the 10MC and settle somewhere else, I will personally tie up the loose ends if you wish to do so." He then turned to Tatsuya and Mayumi, giving them a word of advice which they chose to follow.
Soon after, the spies and members of the media who have been trying to follow Tatsuya were misled by Parade to finally arrive at the explosion site. They came only to find rubbles that were once the Yotsuba main residence. The Yotsuba clan was presumed to be destroyed by the public, but within the magic society, their presence was still very much know and felt. It was now a well-kept secret within the magic society that the Yotsuba clan was still in existence since it was not going to be divulged anytime soon as everyone was still very much fearful of the Yotsuba clan.
As the commotion died down, so did news about Tatsuya and Mayumi. They have disappeared without a trace, disconnecting from their old lives and completely leaving the 10MC behind for good.
A/N And that does it for the plot! Thanks for sticking around for these 2 years, it has been a blast! The epilogue will wrap things up for the final time, so stay tuned!