Book 1: Records of Magus Killer – Chapter 20 - Edward Clark and Aftermath of Echelon III (Patreon)

Two weeks later, Austin, Texas, USNA. "Several STARS members are patrolling the city for an entire day." Said Kiritsugu as they finally all

Two weeks later, Austin, Texas, USNA.

"Several STARS members are patrolling the city for an entire day."

Said Kiritsugu as they finally all of them arrived at a designated destination.

STARS was a military organization consisting of the strongest magicians in the entirety of USNA and was placed directly under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

All members of the STARS were at least strong Combat-Class Magicians, while their standard members who carried out missions in the field that required direct combat were all Tactical-Class.

Head-Captain of the STARS was always Strategic-Class Magician with the strongest Strategic-Order Magic and was the only Magician that could meet with the president of USNA, which itself, at the same time, showed his importance and power, and on the other side, showed subservience and anti-magician society of the USNA.

USNA views magicians as weapons that were utilized and created to serve the society, so even though one may think they have high status, in reality, magicians of USNA were nothing more than just glorified slaves in Kiritsugu's opinion, though many of them were brainwashed by the propaganda of the USNA that it is their mission to serve the common people.

Something that did not serve well with the Magicians of Numbered Clans, as they always felt superior to ordinary people, and neither one of them, be it Kiritsugu, Kudou Makoto, or Tsuchimikado Yasazumi, were different.

"We confirmed that the Head-Captain of STARS, Jason Lewis, is present and is personally tasked with the protection of Edward Clark until he completes Project Echelon III."

Tsuchimikado Yasazumi stated shortly after.

"We just need to have them in one place, without too many people. With the help of my CAD, I can cast Forbidden Magic and kill both of them before Sirius can react to anything. This would cause another great hit to the USNA as they would be losing one of their strongest Strategic-Class Magicians."

All of them were a bit shocked at the implications of the words, as they meant that he was nearing the Ranker Order, the 4th Order Magician.

Between Strategic-Order Magicians were big distinctions, especially the one if the Magician in question did have Strategic-Order Magic and could cast it or just had the ability to cast Strategic-Order Magic if he had one in his disposition.

"I found something... three days from now, STARS would be conducting an experiment under the supervision of Edward Clark, probably Lewis is trying a new spell from their Fake Ranker Project. Several kilometers from Austin, it would be done in an abandoned mineshaft transformed into a testing site."

Reported one of the military men, who was one of the best hackers in Japan.

Originally, not even soldiers, but a black hacker who was recruited into the Military after being tracked down by Magicians and basically forced to do that or be killed for attempting to steal the national secrets.

***

Undisclosed Location, 35km from Austin, abandoned mining outpost.

"They are coming... security is tight."

Muttered Kiritsugu, as he, together with Kudou Makoto, were hidden under the Parade, behind the nearby small hill, as they were observing the entrance to the abandoned mining outpost, which was, in fact, a secret laboratory where the USNA was researching the ways to reach 4th Order, as they restarted Magician Augmentation Projects en masse.

"5 STARS units present... no 6th One is hiding somewhere in the mining shaft... and 7th one is in the convoy of vehicles."

Kudou Makoto whispered as they were observing the research facility.

"How will we do it?"

They observed the STARS patrolling the area, and at the same time, they were also formulating a plan on how to complete their mission.

"Entering the facility is risky, even under the protection of The Parade; the safest way is to wait for the outdoor testing of Magic Sequences they will be carrying out, then I will cast Time Collapse; at the same time, they would be performing the spell. Basically, what I will do, is to use Time Collapse to cause their Magic to self-destruct; it should be strong enough to kill them all; probably half of the STARS would die too in that explosion."

Such a feat would be extremely hard to achieve, as it would require preciseness on an absolute level, so it would appear like an accident. Of course, their main aim was to make it appear like an accident, so they could obtain several hours, for their comrades to rob the facility where the research on Echelon III was stored.

But Kiritsugu was confident, mainly because of two things.

One of them was his own understanding of Time and Time Magic.

And another one was that he learned the Flash Cast of the Yotsuba Clan, meaning he can instantly cast the Time Collapse Spell onto his target.

Normally, a CAD facilitates the invocation of Magic by providing the Activation Sequence, which is then absorbed into the Magician's Magic Calculation Area, where it is translated into a Magic Sequence.

Caster - Psion Signals inserted into CAD - Electrical Signals within CAD to activate the Activation Sequence - Activation Sequence sent back into caster as electrical signals via nervous system into the Magic Calculation Area - Construction of the Magic Sequence - Spell Output.

However, with the Activation Sequence mentally carved into their brains, Yotsuba Family members can directly recall the Activation Sequence from memory without the aid of a CAD. The Magician is able to directly start the process of creating Magic Sequences in the brain.

This essentially eliminates the time spent converting Psion signals into electric signals, processing of the electric signals through the CAD, and then sending of those signals into the Magician's Magic Calculation Area.

During the years, the Flash Cast was modified, and some of the serious restrictions or side effects were removed due to extensive study and adjustments to the technique.

After Edward Clark arrived, together with the Head-Captain of the STARS, Jason Lewis exited the armored vehicle and went directly to the research facility.

Only after five hours did they exit the facility, together with some more scientists and personnel as they went to the near by fields to carry out some practical tests, as some of them were dangerous to perform deep under the ground.

After they saw Edward Clark, some staff, scientists, and STARS heading towards the testing spot, Kiritsugu took out his CAD Walther WA2000, as even with the Flash Cast, the usage of a CAD constructed explicitly for the Time Magic amplified its power and reach.

He then waited for the person who was supposed to cast the testing magic to step forward.

To their surprise, it was Head-Captain of STARS Jason Lewis, who stepped forward as he started activating the Activation Sequence through his CAD.

'This is already close to a Star Order Magician, but still, it is probably one of the most powerful Strategic-Class Magic I have seen.'

Kiritsugu thought as he observed Jason Lewis casting his Strategic-Class Magic; apparently, the "Fake Star Project" was going very well for the USNA.

Suddenly, as Jason Lewis's Activation was complete, Kiritsugu pulled the trigger on the Walther WA2000 and activated the Strategic-Class Magic Time Collapses he could see it was like time had stopped in several tens of kilometers diameter.

He quickly controlled the Time Collapse on the Activation Sequence of Jason Lewis's Magic, as it, out of nowhere, exploded into a violent explosion, which could be heard from even fifty kilometers away, as the earth shook from the power of Strategic-Class Magic getting self-destructed, as all people in the vicinity were instantly killed.

"We need to go... patrolling STARS will appear here any second."

He said as they started running, hidden under the Parade.

Proper Strategic-Class Magic had a destructive power comparable to powerful Nuclear weapons, which could wipe out entire large megacities.

It was no wonder that the entire area of the mining outpost was obliterated entirely, and probably even the underground research facility would be either destroyed or seriously damaged by the impact.

All members of the STARS who were in the vicinity were instantly killed, meaning the explosion wiped out 3 whole units. In comparison, the other 4 Units who were patrolling the area managed to save their lives as they were absent.

Not only did they successfully assassinate Edward Clark, but also severely weakened STARS and killed their Head-Captain.

On top of that, they managed to kill an entire bunch of high-ranking scientists working on their Fake Star Order Project and either destroy or severely damage their research facility.

Meanwhile, as the explosion sounded, their other three comrades started infiltration of the research center in the middle of Austin to deal with the second part of the plan.

***

May 2072, Japanese Imperial Hierarchy, Capital City of Tokyo, Military Headquarters.

"So, how was the response of the USNA?"

Kiritsugu questioned, as it had been some time since they returned from the Mission of Assassinating Edward Clark and stealing and destroying the research on Echelon III.

"Surprisingly, nothing. They sealed the entire area and probably silenced anybody who knew what was happening there. They are trying not to reveal anything, as it would make them look bad, especially when they lost so many of their prized battle slaves, including Jason Lewis. Though our spies brought information that my high-ranking politicians are blaming the New Soviet Union for this."

Marshall Yamamoto summarized as Kiritsugu met with him to discuss the mission's aftermath. Other people were present, only those who were of the highest standing in the Hierarchy and were participating in Project Exodus.

If there were one state that was the greatest enemy of the USNA, then it would be the New Soviet Union and vice versa. Americans always had great enmity with the Soviets, then with Russians, and now with New Soviets.

"It won't be long before the other nations found out, and if this becomes public knowledge soon, the position of the USNA on the global stage would be greatly weakened."

Kudou Retsu commented with a vicious glint in his eyes.

In an age where Strategic-Class Magicians were like walking nukes and could wipe out neither army by themselves, the fact that the USNA lost their strongest one could be greatly detrimental to them, as this could be exploited by some other countries with grudges against the USNA.

Still, the USNA did a splendid job by hiding the fact of what happened at the Austin, and especially that Jason Lewis was killed there together with several units of the STARS, significantly weakening the power of the USNA.

Tactical-Class Magicians could wipe out entire Armored Divison and thousands of Soldiers, and Strategic-Class Magicians with their Strategic Magic are even worse and, in the current world, are basically unstoppable.

No matter how advanced technology or how large a fleet you can deploy, one precisely cast Strategic Magic Spell would send it all to oblivion without any trouble. Because of that, every country strived to have a Strategic-Class Magician, as for most countries, they were ultimate weapons.

"Subtle spread the information that USNA lost their Head-Captain of STARS together with several units of STARS, New Soviet Union, Brazil, and Indo-Persian Federation, and let the show begin."

New Soviet Union had a long history of enmity with the USNA and a lot of territorial disputes and countless open or hidden conflicts over the long years.

Brazil was a country that suffered a lot after the formation of the USNA, as it lost a lot of influence in South America. They especially stopped their expansionist plans, which they wanted to absorb some weaker nations.

However, it was still a rather powerful nation with Strategic-Class Magic.

The last country was the Indo-Persian Federation, which was in some weird alliance with the USNA, but it was clear that it was not an alliance of equals but rather some form of oppression from the USNA for minor benefits.

"What about the Echelon III System?"

Asked Yotsuba Genzou, as they obtained the legacy of Edward Clark, whom they killed and stole his research before destroying everything USNA had on it.

"It would take five more years to complete it fully. Fortunately, we obtained complete research with notes by USNA scientists on the satellite construction, or we would be doing this for a longer time.".

Everyone present had to agree that Edward Clark was really a genius for designing something like Echelon III, which was basically the ultimate spying tool, as it could spy on any electric device connected to the internet without effort.

When the Echelon III System goes online, the information-gathering ability of the Japanese Imperial Hierarchy will go to new heights, as they would be able to spy practically on everyone, and only a few well-warded locations would be immune to the prying eyes of Echelon III.

Of course, there was a secret aim in acquiring Echelon III, and that was to prevent anyone from learning about the imminent doom of Earth and find any invaders or their servants. And if that is possible, then capture them and extract information from them.

Right now, the number of various cultists and contractors, especially with Daemons, is increasing exponentially as in the past year, the Imperial Enforcement Guard caught at least ten people connected to the Demons, from which 8 were members of the Cult located in Africa.

It was apparent that Daemons found their way how to manifest here and coerce people into their service more often than before.

With Echelon III, their monitoring abilities would skyrocket as in the modern era, devices connected to the internet were practically everywhere.

"Soon enough, the death of Jason Lewis and STARS severe losses would create waves in the world. The problem is, we already saw that USNA is progressing steadily with their project to help people reach 4th Order artificially."

Entering the 4th Order was utterly different from everything else, as till the 3rd Order was included, the practically only thing that was required were abilities to affect Eidos, psion, and pushion manipulation capacity and knowledge over the spell model and processing power of the Magic Calculation Area.

4th Order, Star Order Magician, required them to undergo complete physical and soul changes and psionize themselves to be closer to Psion and Magic itself.

What USNA was doing was artificially strengthening the body of the Magician, which, though it wasn't entirely a bad thing, was fundamentally the wrong way for Magician to reach the 4th Order.

Even though their bodies would withstand the tremendous pressure of the Strategic Magic, contrary to Star Order Magician, who could cast it freely without side effects, those who artificially reached the Order their bodies would crumble after some time.