Chapter 24 The Future

Takemi blinked before taking off his First High jacket and started undoing his tie. He had a grin set on his face and a raised eyebrow,

"I didn't know you where so bold Miyuki-chan. And when Tatsuya was standing right there? How scandalous".

The girl went red in the face before regaining her elegant persona and turning her head to the side around while saying in a distant tone, "You're mistaken Mikazuchi-san. Onii-sama told me to tell you that when you got here, so that he could take a sample of blood. If you'd look over there you would see why".

She gestured to the table where Tatsuya was standing with a box of clear liquid. He had a computer directly beside him and a microscope, with a large clear crystal to his left. His eyebrows had grown closer together and had a slight darker shade of skin tone underneath his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep.

"Ah, Takemi-san, you're here. I trust that Stage 1 went as smoothly as you planned?".

"It did. Within the next couple days, requests for the crystallized mana will be flooding in and the information will no longer be able to be contained. Donations should start coming in and we will be provided with assets to purchase equipment without using your or my own connections".

Tatsuya nodded and then pointed to the liquid in the box.

"That's good. I've made some progress on the catalyst and believe that it is blood. This liquid was made with a sample I had in the lab, and then tried using my own when I ran out. I believe that due to the quality and quantity of the od within your body, it could be what changes it from just energy to a solid. My own barely has enough to liquefy the substance and I have yet to find a way to keep it stable".

Takemi looked at the liquid in the box and noted the several lines on the side and a time written beside it. Obviously what Tatsuya said about it being unstable was correct, and the liquefied mana couldn't stay as a liquid without a strong enough catalyst.

"How much blood did you use?". Asked Takemi turning the pressurized lid off and placing his hand above the mana.

"About a liter".

Takemi nodded before stopping and turning his head to look at Tatsuya.

"A liter! Are you crazy!? Even I would wait before doing it all in one go!".

Tatsuya walked away from Takemi and sat down in the leather chair in the room. He closed his eyes and said, "I just kept giving it enough until it stabilized for an hour before it started to turn back into pure mana. I thought it would be permanent".

Miyuki handed her elder brother an energy drink with a smile and patted his head.

"Anyway, Takemi-san. How about you try? Onii-sama believes that it will take less than a thousandth of what he did. Try a single drop first".

He nodded and made pricked his thumb with his incisor letting a single red drop gather on the tip of his finger and watched as it fell into the pool of liquefied mana.

The results were something that any of the three could expect.

"That's....!".

"Onii-sama!".

"....Hmm....".

Although all of the the liquefied mana turned into crystallized mana, he amount was-

"It must be at least six feet tall? All from just a single drop of blood?". Said Miyuki in awe of the sudden appearance of the giant clear crystal.

Tatsuya narrowed his eyes and tried to read the Eidos of the crystal and found out that it was exactly the same as the the first crystal, only that it's capacity to contain a completed Magic Sequence was greater than the basketball sized one.

"Well. That was rather anticlimactic", Said Tatsuya leaning further into his chair. He needed a new direction for their research to, now that the reason behind crystallization of mana had been revealed, for now he just wanted to have a nice nap and....

The older Shiba feel asleep and the younger one put a blanket on top of him out of goodwill.

"I have a question Miyuki-san".

"Go right ahead Takemi-san. Although I might not answer depending on the question".

Takemi nodded and asked anyway, "Do you believe in what we are trying to accomplish? I mean, Tatsuya is your Guardian and so the orders you give him are absolute right? If you wanted to stop all this you could. So I'd just like to know why?".

Miyuki sat down on a stool besides Takemi and didn't face him but replied, "Because I hate them. I hate everyone who makes onii-sama do things in order to protect me. I don't want him to fight, or feel pain, or work for anybody he doesn't want to. I just want him to be himself, and do things that "he" wants to do himself.

That's why I like this Takemi-san. Because at any point in time, onii-sama can stop, with little to no strings attached. I don't believe you're the type of person who would stab someone in the back. I like that you want to be friends with my older brother and not "Shiba Tatsuya". I also consider you a friend".

She moved a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and gave Takemi a smile. He only nodded and looked at the giant crystallized mana before saying,

"I think I know what I want to do next. We've already established that psions, more specifically the spell Density Manipulation, can turn the mana in the air into crystallized mana when exposed to blood. This has created our original System of Magic, Jewelcraft-".

Miyuki giggled at the childish name and interrupted, "Remote Activated Delayed Storage-Type Magic".

"I was getting to that.... but we this isn't actually a Magic per se. Just a way to store it. What I want to do next is create an actual spell. One that utilizes both prana and psions it's Activation and Magic Sequence".

"That'll be difficult. Creating a new magic is always hard, but combining two different "fuels" so to speak will be-".

Takemi shook his head and said, "I have an idea about it actually. It's a type of Magecraft that uses the mana in the air to create a field in which the caster reins supreme. It possesses a multitude of effects, that range from minor headache, to limited mind control, to killing if the field was constructed right".

"And what do you want to do with this? How would you integrate Magic into Magecraft? How would you get psions to alter the-!".

He smiled and see that she caught on, "I want to rewrite the Eidos of the Bounded Field so see how far we can change it at it's core. It's not actually a spell, but if we can create Magic that can rewrite Magecraft then it'll be a start".

Miyuki took a sip of the energy drink that Tatsuya didn't finish and listened to Takemi talk. His words, while complex, would resonate with anyone who listened. As if he was infecting them with his dream.

"It'll be a start to create an Activation Sequence that utilizes od or mana to create a Magic Sequence to create Magecraft, or an incantation which manipulates psions to rewrite the Eidos without the use of a CAD or Magic Sequence.

It'll be the beginning, of a new age of Magic!".

Takemi stood up and looked upwards with stars in his eyes. This was what he was passionate about. Becoming stronger was just something that he had to do in order to survive in this world. Creating Magecraft and Magic that didn't exist was what he believed his life was all about.

"It seems we'll be in your care Takemi-san. Please take care of my brother and I". Miyuki bowed and gave Takemi a smile. It was more natural than the one's she had given before. Last time it appeared a little forced, but this seemed a little more "real".

"It's fine Miyuki-san! Just wait! Before you know it, you might be using prana to cast spells despite not possessing Magic Circuits!".

Miyuki tilted her head and watched as Takemi left, the only thing going through her mind was, 'What are Magic Circuits?'.

Although something great had been born in that small lab in FLT that day, an equally great had been unleashed by a certain golden radiance...

"Yes, granduncle. Everything I said is true. I've already submitted my report to STARS and have recommended me to progress my relationship with Takemi until the point that he comes to the USNA".

Angelina stood in her quarters in Roswell, New Mexico. It was the main headquarters for the organization and where Angelina lived for most of her teenage life. She only returned to Japan to get to know her granduncle better, in hopes of gaining information for the USNA.

"I see. Crystallized mana and a new type of particle called prana... you said that the Mikazuchi have an Magic to seal away information? Is that correct?".

"Yes. The other person in the contract, Shiba Tatsuya felt a rather large amount of pain every time he tried to talk to me about it. It doesn't appear false".

She saw her granduncle rub his chin before saying, "Do whatever you want. I am naming you as my successor and the Kudou, or as they go by in the west, the Shields, are a well established Family in both Japan and the USNA. If you decide to move to Family there, you better have the determination and power to make it happen. I will not stop you, but I must remind you of the consequences if you do this".

"Don't worry granduncle. I'll complete my schooling in Japan before I decide on how to do it. I don't believe that Takemi would let me go without a fight".

Kudou Retsu nodded and gave one final piece of advice, "Stay away from the Shiba siblings. I read your report and saw that you didn't mention them. That was wise. Maya, despite being someone I trained myself is a person that I do not want to make an enemy out of. And so should you, Angelina... I wish you good luck in your future endeavors".

The old man stopped the transmission leaving Angelina behind in a dimly lit room with a report on her desk and a photo of her and Takemi beside it. She clutched the photo in her chest and took a deep breath.

'I didn't tell them about your origins nor about the Dragon Heart.... you better not have made any girls fall in love with while I'm away.... otherwise I'll be very mad....'.