LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 40: Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Two Years Later
GU JIE
Two years had passed since the war had begun. Two years to the date and in that time, the world had seen a massive paradigm shift, as conventional warfare was now termed dead by many generals and tacticians, as magicians became the forefront of war and conflict.
And yet all magicians were not created equal. GAA was blessed with a talented cohort of magicians, the country also had three Strategic Class Magicians including him, and yet all of it had meant nothing.
Japan had not flexed all of its magical might for the country was engaging not only GAA but also the USNA in the war, and had to divide up its resources to combat both of them, and even yet neither of them had managed to make a proper stand.
And it had all begun with the attack on Fujian Military Base, GAA's largest base which was wiped out in a single strike at the beginning of Japan's offensive, one which was to this day led by a singular magician.
One magician who had decimated batallion after batallion, slaughtered thousands single handedly, that he had forced his own allies in the government to turn on him.
GAA's government had begun negotiating with Japan, despite his misgivings, and they were making good progress as those cowards thought to sacrifice him to protect themselves.
And yet he would not fall, he was GU Jie, the one who had lived for more than a hundred years, and in a way he had created the menace that was Inei Yotsuba.
And now to defeat that menace he knew he to create another one, for in this war no other magician had proven themselves to be his equal, and as he sat there deep underground in the mountain range North of GAA, as he watched all the major military bases of the country destroyed and decimated, as news of GAA's peace treaty with the Japan now aired on the TV.
"Those fools," he whispered as he raised his finger and all the screens infront of him were cut into bits and pieces, as he snarled in rage at the uselessness of those slimy politicians.
"They think they can abandon me without consequences," he lamented cursing those idiots for everyone knew Japan's first term of accepting GAA's surrender involved either his death, or his whereabouts.
And so as he sat there, it happened in the blink of an eye, for a second ago he was not there, and then in a second the throne room was occupied by an additional soul.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! BOOM!
And the massive door behind him vanished as a sole figure stood opposite to him as he sat in his throne looking towards him with those red eyes of his.
"We finally meet again," Yotsuba's butcher's voice rang out across the Hall. He stood there nonchalantly, his presence filling the room. The psions rushed off his body as he looked straight at him.
"Gu Jie," and Gu Jie smirked, as he found himself facing the very opponent he had been fearing and preparing for all these years.
"So, you have finally come, my creation," he greeted and immediately at his words those red eyes narrowed, as he turned his head to the side, as a an invisible slash cut through the head of chair he had been sitting on.
SLASH!
"I am not your creation," he snarled as Gu Jie smirked.
"Ohh, but you are. Denny it as much as you may, but I am the one who created you, who blessed you with the life and the powers that you now wield," and as his words simmered the walls began to crack, as his psions filled the room, and he watched as a dark slit split his body into two as it expanded above and below his right eye which now flew an ominous red.
"This is not the power of your creation," he rebuffed as Gu Jie raised his finger and watched as his own body retaliated, as his own psions respnded at his call, and he saw those red orbs widen as a clash ensued in the center of the room, as he replicated the boy's prowess, a feat which had taken him two years of rigorous work and testing.
"Then why is it that I wield it as well," he challenged as the whole Hall felt as if it was being squeezed into two, the ground tore itself up, the walls cracked and so forth as their psions clashed against one another.
"You will bow before me...." he challenged as he raised his hand, as his psions began to overpower the Yotsuba boy, whose body began to bleed as cuts began to appear on it, tearing off the shirt slowly and slowly as Gu Jie smiled and watched as he fell to his knees.
"You shall obey me," he screamed, as the pressure increased as a crater appeared underneath the boy, as he himself rose from his throne, his body weakened by the year she had existed and yet alive nonetheless as he exhausted all the magical prowess.
And the truth was that this was not his power. Not entirely, for despite his various attempts it was impossible to replicate the feet he had accomplished all those years ago in the creation of the ultimate weapon.
And so, he had used another way, by using 'genrators' created using a magicians' brains he had pushed his psions to the limits as he tried to overpower the boy.
And as he walked upto him, he pushed all those generators to the limits and felt them crack at the output he was demanding of them, as he crushed his psions, as he reached for his neck and raised him in the air.
"This is the reality. You are no match for me. I am the one who created you, and I can end you just as quickly," he taunted as grasped that neck with all his might.
"Join me..." he offered, as he looked him in the eye.
"...or die," he gave the ultimatum as the boy struggled in his grasp, when suddenly his pressure vanished as blood dripped down his lips, before the boy's eyes spun, as a single blood soaked tear ran down his cheek.
"Those eyes of yours...." the boy struggled to speak, as Gu Jie frowned.
"...Just how blind are they" and then he gasped as in the blink of an eye, their situation was reversed, as Gu Jie found his weak body being hoisted in the air, as Inei Yotsuba gripped his neck as he looked at him with those red eyes of his.
"Impossible," Gu Jie gasped, as pain ripped through him, as he saw blood drip down his face, as the Yotsuba heir smiled.
"You seem to forget the true specialisation of the Yotsuba," as the realization dawned on him. Mental Interference Magic, how could he have missed this.
"...And even amongst the Yotsuba I alone am the blessed one," and with that he felt his world shift, as the surrounding Hall vanished only to be replaced by a monochromatic world, as he felt his senses get lost, before a last whisper entered his ears.
"Enjoy your time in Hell...."
"Tsukoyomi...."
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MAYUMI SAEGUSA
The landscape of the world was far too different than it had been two years ago, as the people of the Japan looked nervously as they found their homeland attacked not once but twice in as many months, while their staunch alliance with the USNA crumbled.
Despite fear the people had demanded retribution, and rightly so. Yet few understood the cost of this, and what it entailed. To fight not just the USNA but also their long enemy GAA, at a singular point in time was deemed by many experts as an impossibility.
But nothing was an impossibility when it came to the Yotsuba, and the clan had delivered on their promise, and though the hostility with the USNA would come to a halt in but six months as the USNA would publically admonish and end their witch hunt against Inei Yotsuba, the war in GAA would not end so quickly.
Gu Jie, the ancient relic of the past had integrated himself in the GAA's ruling class, through various puppets and so forth, and the country had no desire for peace, and that meant war. That meant death.
And yet despite two years of continuous wars, Japan had suffered barely any losses, for all of their offensive was led by one person. One single soul who shouldered all of their burden.
Inei Yotsuba—and as she thought of the white haired boy who would often help her with her work as the Student Council President, who would bunk classes just to sleep on the roof she could hardly match him with the boy who had single handedly won Japan the war in GAA.
And it was all because of her in a way. Because they had come after her, and he could not let that happen.
Even the two years, the time he had given himself was a ploy to keep her away from the war, so that he may end it before she had finished her university degree and was thrust into the war like many others.
And now it was all over, and so was her own burden, one that she had been carrying for years just to keep face.
"So, you have made up your mind," her fat...—Saegusa Koichi began as he sipped tea, in the secluded room afforded to him, as an informal prisoner. She had not forgiven the man for his treacahery, and yet she could do little for the fact that his blood ran through her veins.
And so, when she had taken over the Saegusa clan, she knew that she must contain him lest he try to interfere once more with her life and that of her sisters. And so Saegusa Koichi was sent off to a secret facility in Nagano prefecture, where he was all but imprisoned as she led the clan in the TMC.
"I have," she said as she sat opposite to him, and saw him click her tongue.
"To give up your name, your title. For what, for a killer. You are naive as always, my daughter," he taunted, as her eyes narrowed.
"You have no right to call me that, Koichi Saegusa," she rebuffed and saw the man shake his head.
"You cannot deny the blood that runs in your veins. You are a Saegusa, and if you give up your name to join hands with the very clan that has destroyed us, you shall shame..."
"You shamed the Saegusa name. You. Not I!" she roared, as her psions roared at her rage, the tutelage of the Empress of the Night showing its effectiveness as she saw her father's eyes widen as the room shifted, for a second.
"That magic," he gasped, as she pulled back the psions, and sipped tea once more.
"You have no idea how it loathed me to carry this name after how you used me, and yet I did so for my Izumi, for Kasumi and my brothers. And now, it is time for me to let go of this burden," and indeed, the war with the GAA had ended a few days ago, with the death of GU Jie.
And though hostilities would take years to end, the war in and of itself was over. And given the sheer amount of damage that GAA's magical forces had taken, it would be decades until they would recover a portion of their strength.
As for the USNA, peace had bee established a year ago, and though the main culprit behind the attack remained on the run, the USNA's new government was keen to rebuild the trusted relationship they had always enjoyed with Japan.
And it had all been done in two years, just per someone's promise.
"Izumi shall lead the clan after me," she informed him, not that he could do anything to influence that from here, she told him.
"I am set to marry Inei in a month," she added softly, as she rose from her position.
"You will not be allowed to attend," and with that she began to walk away and as she opened the door he called out from behind.
"Such a callous daughter," he lamented and she shook her head.
"You should consider it a blessing that the you are still alive," she asnwsered as she looked back at him.
"Otherwise, you and I both know that it would have taken him weeks to end the whole clan you so loved...."
And with that she left the room dejected and more tired than she had ever been, and yet unburdened by the shackles that had kept her at bay for years as she entered the car as Hayama-san drove her away.
And her union with Inei-kun had been announced to the Yotsuba clan months ago, and none had dared to speak up against it, specially given the sheer progress she had made.
Saegusa Mayumi was no longer a simple magician, she was the Head of the TMC council having replaced the disgraced Kudo Retsu all but months ago, as she brought all the clans to a consensus about the peace treaty with the USNA and the GAA.
The car drove for sometime before he stopped near an open runway, where a small private plane stood, and as she walked out of the car a gust of wind blew off her hair, before a singular figure appeared infront of her shielding her from the strong gusts of wind.
He had grown taller in the years she had not seen him, his hair now reached below his shoulders, and yet his presence felt the same as it had always felt like—reassuring, warm.
And as tears bubbled in her eyes she looked into that gaze as she saw him smiling down at him.
"Welcome back..." she whispered as she saw smile at her.
"Inei kun..."
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