You know, every here and there, there would be some events that would be remembered forever. Everyone would remember what they were doing the moment the event happened.
It was the same when they announced the attack on Dahan by the Yotsuba Clan together with the National Defense Forces, with the Juumonji Clan attacking Taipei Island and the Ichijō Clan attacking Jeju Island.
I was currently home after an entire day of work.
And then it came in the news...
Several military bases in Dahan have been bombed by new experimental Magic.
On the first day, they reported thousands of dead soldiers that were killed.
Second, after that, they said several prominent High Ranking Generals of Dahan were assassinated by a Magician named Magus Killer Emiya Kiritsugu, one of the youngest Strategic-Class Magicians, fianceé of Yotsuba Maya.
Immediately, the third news came that both Taipei and Jeju had fallen into the hands of the Juumonji Clan, Ichijō Clan, and National Defense Forces. With zero life costs on our side. That day stayed in my memory as a day of Promised Victory."
- Unknown person, remembering the 1st of February, the Year 2063
***
"Hey, hey, Ojii-sama, could you tell me more about how Otou-sama and Okaa-sama fought in Dahan?"
Questioned a little boy around four years old with jet-black hair and azure blue eyes.
"Little brat, I fought there too! Why do you always forget that glorious Grim Reaper decimated hundreds?!"
Shouted an old man in a kimono in faux depression.
"Because fights of Ojii-sama are boring. Okaa-sama, when fights create so much light, and her explosions are as deadly as they are pretty. Otou-sama uses Time Bombs and explodes the Time itself through decaying psion decomposition."
The boy pouted as he looked at his grandfather, who almost got a heart attack hearing that.
"Hmph! Next time, I will show you how cool my fights are; just wait till GAU or NSU attacks again. Not everyone can have such abilities as Decomposition."
Said the old man, as he mentioned his grandson's ability, the strongest Yotsuba Magician to ever exist.
"Hey, Ojii-sama, what does decide, good Clan Head?"
Asked the boy as he looked at his grandfather. He was the Clan Head of Yotsuba for a very long time and thus was very experienced.
"That is a pretty interesting question to which there isn't a clear answer. When I was a Clan Head, the times were different; I was doing everything I could to protect the Family. Now your mother is Clan Head, and together with your father, they are focusing on strengthening the Family, as currently, we are in peace."
Stated the old man as he observed the stars.
"So, you are saying that the entire thing is dependant on what era is it?"
"Yes... When you become Clan Head, nobody knows what the time will be and what political situation will come. Still, remember one thing. The family is the first place; we Yotsuba protect our own, and everything is done for the Clan. Just like I have fought in World War III and Slaughter of Dahan, just like your father who led the fights against Dahan, and just like your mother who decimated one military base after another."
Said the old man as he patted his hair.
"Ojii-sama, do you think there would be another war?"
Asked the boy as he stared at the stars together with his grandpa.
"Yes. Great Asia Union is mad at our Clan because we have destroyed Dahan, taken everything that has value, and, more importantly, taken all of their magic technologies and research."
The elderly man explained slowly to his grandson while making a pause,
"Thanks to that, Yotsuba rose to glory, and Japan started producing far more Magicians than that was predicted. Even though our country is small, in terms of military might, we are ahead of the Indo-Persian Federation and are on the same level as the Greater Asian Union, New Soviet Union, or USNA. In terms of Magicians, we are far surpassing quality."
Japanese Imperial Hierarchy was far superior to other nations in the case of Magicians and Magic technology, to a degree where they even had Magic that was able to prolong the lifespan, which allowed more Magicians to reach higher Orders...
"Thanks to Dahan, we are slowly increasing the number of Magicians. We have more Strategic-Class Magicians compared to the Federation and GAU. Though it is hard to say what is happening in undercurrents."
Muttered the old man as he looked at the night sky.
From the moment when the Magic was discovered, it was apparent that the world would be changed forever, and peaceful times would never return.
Thirst for strength was deeply rooted in every person, and Magic gave that opportunity.
With a single destructive spell, Strategic-Class Magician could wipe out an entire metropolis like Tokyo or New York within seconds. They were walking nuclear weapons in this new age and in some cases, they were the rulers of the world.
"Don't worry, Grandpa; I will beat everyone who dares to threaten my family."
Said the boy as he looked at his grandfather affectionately.
"I know you will; I know, Tatsuya."
The old man said with a gentle smile as he patted the head of his grandson.
***
December, the Year 2062
Two months were by the meeting between Kiritsugu and Yotsuba Genzou.
He started living in the Main House of the Yotsuba Clan and began working on the plans for the invasion of Dahan.
His future father-in-law contacted the National Defense Forces and managed to strike a deal with them. Not only them but also another two families from the Ten Master Clans joined, namely Juumonji and Ichijō clans.
Both of them were deeply affiliated with the Military, so after some talks, they agreed to a joint attack on Dahan. Japan was short on resources; most of the country was already discovered, and the only way to search for resources was outside the country.
Many were eager to hear the proposition of Yotsuba Genzou to rob everything from Dahan because this was an unprecedented opportunity to increase the strength of the Yotsuba Clan by several degrees and even the whole of Japan.
After some bargaining, Yotsuba would pay 30% of their loot to the Military, while Juumonji and Ichijō would keep everything they could get from Taipei Island and Jeju Island.
Kiritsugu started training several people, carefully chosen; they all volunteered for this operation. He started training them in the usage of Gem Sequence Magic and gave them several tips on assassination.
They needed to keep the losses at a minimum.
As he noticed, the Yotsuba Clan was very small; if they lost more than ten people, the Clan's strength would be cut by around 20% of their entire strength.
Living under one roof with Maya was very exciting for him; the only real problem was his future father-in-law. Every time he went somewhere with Maya, he felt a chill on his back as he was watching him.
Maya just chuckled at this; she was aware that her father was very protective.
So, till marriage, there would be no nightly pleasures.
"Training finished. Now everyone disperses."
Kiritsugu said to twenty people gathered before him.
"Yes, Sir!"
Everybody saluted to him as everyone went to do their own thing.
"How are they?"
Yotsuba Eisaku, Genzou's even sterner-looking brother, was overseeing the training together with him because he was usually in charge of training the Magicians of the Yotsuba Clan, as he was one of the most skilled combat Magicians of the Clan.
In Yotsuba, he was responsible for training and in the newly drafted structure of the Clan, he would be an Elder responsible for the position of the Combat Hall Master.
"Pretty good. Most of them have already learned how to use Gem Sequence Magic properly. Now we need to perfect the teamwork among them. Fortunately, the quality of Yotsuba's Magicians is top-notch; even the weakest is stronger than elite Combat-Class Magician with High-Order Rank, several times stronger than even elites in the army."
The Magus Killer remarked as he observed the training regime of the Magicians from the Yotsuba Clan.
"Yes, what we lose in quantity, we make for with quality. I hired several trustworthy assassins that you recommended to create havoc in the Dahan. If we create unrest and riots before our attacks, their strength would be divided, and their reaction to the first wave of attack would be far slower."
Eisaku stated expressionlessly while looking at his future nephew-in-law.
"Aniki decided that you would lead the operation. Consider it a final test before being accepted into the family."
Yotsuba Eisaku informed him about the latest developed, which was something decided upon by all Elders of the Yotsuba Clan.
"That I gratefully accept."
Kiritsugu stood there for several seconds in silence before he bowed slightly to Yotsuba Eisaku, after which he went to Maya's place.
Currently, they weren't attending school, as this was far more important.
Kiritsugu's responsibilities were finishing the Gem Sequence Magic and training people for the upcoming battle, while Maya was also going to participate in the invasion.
t was something she wanted. By her words, she was going to be the next Head of Yotsuba, and it would reflect poorly on her, letting the entire Clan go into the battle without her, especially when they were fighting due to her.
Not mentioning the sole fact, that she was pretty vengeful; she wanted to vent up her frustration and anger.
"Hi, Maya."
Kiritsugu asked as he went to her abode.
"Hmph!"
"Are you angry at me?"
He felt that the question itself was unnecessary as it was pretty clear that she was mad at him for whatever reason.
"Wou, Mr. Genius, figured it out. Only training and not even spending time with his future fianceé."
Maya pouted as she turned around and sat there angrily.
"Don't worry; after everything is done, I will only pay my attention to you."
Said Kiritsugu as he hugged her from behind.
"Hmph... maybe I will forgive you if you teach me some Ninjutsu."
He just nodded his head in agreement quickly.
Teaching her Ninjutsu would be pretty profitable for her, as Maya's hand-to-hand combat abilities weren't exactly the best; one could say they were nonexistent.
In some ways, Maya was pretty easy to please when she was angry.
He only needs to promise to teach her something that will increase her strength, and she will be happy again. But she was also an expert at holding grudges. If someone wronged her, she would remember it for years and plot revenge in a most brutal way.
"Hey, Kiritsugu, what exactly is Project: High Table? I have seen some files on your workplace with that label."
Maya asked with curiosity as she looked at her boyfriend.
"Something that my grandfather started with my father but never got the chance to finish. It was a very ambitious project. Both of them saw World War III as an immense opportunity to create something akin to the government of the criminal underworld."
Normally, the underworld didn't have any form of government, mainly just unwritten rules.
"In war, most of the criminal organizations and families perished already, creating a huge power vacuum in the criminal world. Ojii-sama came up with an idea to unify what was left from it, and after the war ended, they would control the entire criminal world."
Explained Kiritsugu to Maya, who was shocked to hear this, though it was undeniable that the opportunities would be immense if someone succeeded.
In Japan, Yakuza was already destroyed, and their place was taken over by Yotsuba, as they didn't mind shady dealings.
"Not only money you could make, but the most important information-gathering abilities. Crime is everywhere, and you could use it to your advantage to spy different ways on enemy nations."
Remarked Maya as she thought about it.
"Ojii-sama died during the conflict with one of the enemies that were opposed to the establishment of High Table, and Father was killed by assassins. Now I have the power of Yotsuba on my side, and I would have a much easier time establishing the High Table."
High Table would be another thing that could tremendously increase the influence of the Clan if it succeeded.
"How would that system work?"
It really sounded surreal to a certain degree.
"The entire organization would be controlled by 12 people who will hold the 12 seats of the High Table. However, the seats wouldn't be actually under their control but rather controlled by their families behind them."
He started explaining the idea behind the High Table as he made a short pause for Maya to take everything.
"The family will elect a person or send someone who will hold the seat; basically, you could think about it as a family representative. Then there is The Adjudicator, who will act as the main agent of the High Table and will have the authority to adjudge and harm anyone, even the Table members themselves, that dare to challenge the Table, an Enforcer if you will. The Adjudicator will be at least a very powerful Tactical-Class Magician of the High-Order, preferably Strategic-Class Magician."
Explained Kiritsugu briefly, he admitted that his predecessors did good work creating this system.
"You should discuss it with Otou-sama."
Even she had to admit that it was a good idea with high benefits.
"Hey, Kiritsugu, when will you complete your Strategic-Class Magic and become a full-fledged Strategic-Class Magician."
Right now, in terms of the Magician Rank, he was a High-Order Magician; he managed to reach the High-Order at a very young age. Not to mention, he was only one step away from completing his Strategic-Class Magic and becoming a geniue Strategic-Class Magician.
"Soon. Time Collapse would soon cross Incomplete Strategic-Class, and become full-fledged Strategic-Class Magic. Have you ever wondered why only a small number of Strategic-Class Magicians are known to the public?"
He was a Born-Specialized Magician with Innate Magic called Innate Time.
Currently, Time Collapse was his only Magic that was nearing Strategic-Class.
"Not much."
If Time Collapse reached Strategic-Class, he could basically collapse the time expectancy of psions in a certain area, causing either a huge explosion from the fast collapse of psions or creating an area of an anti-magic domain where a person can't use Magic if he collapsed psions slowly.
"There are many Strategic-Class Magicians in the world. Most of them are only Fake Strategic-Class Magicians, who were classified as such due to their huge ability to cast Magic, psion reserves, and mastery over spells after reaching the peak of the High-Order Magician Rank in terms of the Psion Capacity."
Kiritsugu knew that there were many distinctions between the Magicians in the world.
"Their combat power far outshines that of Tactical-Class Magicians. However, only a few of them have Strategic-ClassMagic, which is capable of wide-scale destruction. There is a distinction between them; because of that, those with Strategic-Class Magic are also called Destroyers."
There was a great difference between the Magicians with proper Strategic-Class Magic and those without.
"Also, some of them have Incomplete Strategic-Class Magic, meaning the scale of destruction isn't comparable to geniue Strategic-Class Magician, but at the same time, they are stronger than the peak Tactical-Class Magician. The last group is the most dangerous one; they are unregistered ones, a Destroyer Strategic-Class Magician, that is completely unknown, most terrifying ones, as usual, they are far stronger than their publicly known counterparts."
The most notable thing was the fact that due to the lack of Order for Strategic-Class Magicians, most of them could not cast their Strategic-Class Magic alone and either needed to the collective effort of a whole bunch of High-Order Magicians or powerful CAD.
This was, technically speaking, the result of the Earth's poor foundation in this aspect because the Magic returned to the world only a few decades ago, and the concentration of Psions was not high enough for Magicians to reach the heights of the times of old.
"I will train hard also to reach Strategic-Class Magician. I can't leave my future husband also in the endless power struggle."
Maya giggled softly as she hugged her boyfriend as they watched the shining moon.
***
Somewhere in Japan
"Patriarch, I bring you a report. Yotsuba Clan, in cooperation with the National Defense Force, Juumonju Clan, and Ichijo Clan, are launching a mass-scale invasion. With Yotsubas are going to solely attack Dahan."
"Hmm... who would have thought Dahan would grow so bold? My student was lucky that she was saved by the Magus Killer, who, by the words of the Grim Reaper, would marry her. Yotsuba is growing too powerful; if they plan this well, they will rise too quickly and outshine all other Ten Master Clans together. If they win with minimal losses, the balance would be broken... hmm... it would be good to change to approach strategy."
"..."
"Hmm, a child born between Maya and Magus Killer would be someone very special. There is always a way for a good arranged marriage. That way, the Kudou Family could benefit from the power of the Yotsuba Clan. If they succeed... start immediately working on that thing Genzou send; this is our best chance to change it."