Same day
Bucholz Imperial Naval Air Station, Kwajalein, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Two days after the discovery of the distributor, on Kwajalein Island, far from Palau and the Philippines, the soldiers deployed to the region were going about their normal daily routines. They are now playing poker by the US-2 parked in the hangar. No emergency call was made to warn of the pirates' attack, and the time passed idly by.
"But... they keep coming up whether we crush them or not, those PLA crumbles!"
"Don't talk like that, Shibuya. The PLA is the CCP's forces, and pirates are pirates."
A senior seaman first class reprimanded the young Shibuya for his comment. As a result of the East Asia War that broke out from 2022 to 2024, the People's Liberation Army was forced to downsize under the leadership of the United Nations, and the South China Sea and South Pacific region is now overrun by remnants of that army that have become pirates.
Pirates are not only prevalent in the waters of Asia, but also in the Caribbean Sea and the Arab world, where attacks on trading ships and looting of coastal areas by groups of people known as pirates have been rampant. It is not only on land that the security order has collapsed, but also on the sea.
"...But it must be true that they are former PLA soldiers, stealing warships and running amok. Because of them we never run out of work. Isn't that a nice nuisance?"
"But there will be those who will be glad to have them. If that's the case, then isn't there a point in continuing to hunt pirates on this island?"
"Well... you have a point."
The soldiers of the Imperial Navy were having a peaceful time, exchanging idle chatter that could be interrupted at any moment. In the midst of all this, the man who had just scolded his junior for the comment, spoke with a look like he had just recalled something.
"By the way... data was delivered from the Micronesia Dispatch Force HQ in Palau. It was a picture of the person who was named as the manufacturer of the magic drug and details of her background. I'll send it to all terminals later, so please check it out."
The seaman first class tossed two cards. The idyllic time passed, and before long, the brilliant sun has turned into a sunset.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kwajalein Urban Area, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Soon night falls. The island was once leased by the United States and home to the US Army's Bucholz Army Airfield, but after the US renounced its lease and the Compact of Free Association and the military left Micronesia, residents began to move back to the island from the nearby Ebeye Island. After the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a new alliance with the Japanese government and stationed the Imperial Japanese Navy on the island, the Japanese government did not evict the residents, and the island is still home to a thriving settlement of local residents.
The Bucholz Army Airfield retained only its name and is now occupied by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese government has restored the golf course, supermarket, and beaches that once belonged to the base, and not only the base personnel and their families but also the local people use these facilities. Relations between the two are very good, and the town is lined with bars that cater to Japanese civilians and their military personnel.
Sudo visited one of the bars, which had become his favorite. Behind the counter, the master was alone, making cocktails.
"........."
Sudo was sipping bourbon and staring at his cell phone screen. It showed the data from the Palau Headquarters that had just been sent simultaneously to the soldiers. Soon after, Sudo put his cell phone away in his pocket. He then returned the empty glass to the master and ordered another drink.
"Sorry, I'd like to order one more..."
"...Two!"
"!?"
At that moment, a woman suddenly appeared next to Sudo and interrupted his order. She smiled seductively and looked into Sudo's face.
"Buy me a drink, dandy uncle."
"!!"
The woman certainly had an attractive face. If she had been the first local resident he had met, he might have offered to buy her a drink. But such concern had been blown out of his mind.
"Ai... Amamiya!"
"........."
The suspect in the manufacture of magical drugs, who had just been sent from headquarters, suddenly appeared in front of him. Sudo was so shocked that he blurted her name. At that moment, the smile on her face disappeared. Without a pause, Sudo reached into his pocket for his gun.
"Crap, this is the Imperial Navy's island... That was so careless of me."
As she spoke, she conjured fairy wings on her back. Then she unleashed a powerful gust of wind, blowing everything in the store away.
"Aaaaaah!"
Sudo, who was closest to the bar, was knocked helplessly against the bar. The master, who was standing at the bar counter, narrowly escaped by hiding under the counter. Amamiya took advantage of the opportunity and flew out of the bar window.
"...Gah! Master, sorry! Tell me later how much I owe you and how much damage it did!" Sudo said, and ran out the door of the bar after her.
The owner and the other customers stared dumbfounded at where he had left off. Looking at the floor, the liquor bottles that had been lined up on the huge shelves were all knocked off and broken.
"Goddamit, you've got to be shitting me..." the owner muttered with a feeling of resignation.
Sudo ran out of the store and contacted Bucholz Airfield, chasing after Amamiya who was fleeing high into the sky.
"It's me, I've run into that fairy woman! ...In the sky! She's flying! Launch the US-2!"
"C-copy!"
The soldiers at the base prepared to launch the US-2 upon receiving the commander's order. Looking up at the sky, Amamiya had already flown high into the sky and was almost invisible in the twinkling of the stars.
. . .
Bucholz Imperial Naval Air Station, Kwajalein
Lieutenant Sudo returned to the base and hurried to the US-2, which is ready for sortie. As he walked quickly to the aircraft, his subordinates came up to him one after another.
"US-2 is ready to take off!"
"Thank you! Where is that fairy?"
"We've detected what we believe to be a flying object from the location where she made contact with you, Lieutenant. It's moving away from Kwajalein."
"...Good, we'll follow her right away! Get the capture nets and shock bombs ready! We will arrest that fairy Ai Amamiya in midair!"
With many of his men in tow, Sudo boarded the US-2. The engines started to drive, the propellers began to spin, and the plane began to run on the runway. The plane took off into the sky.
"Fairies and hexes are Class 2 demi-humans! Be careful!"
The US-2 flew high into the sky, chasing the fairy away from Kwajalein Island.
Sky above the Pacific Ocean
The US-2 took off upward and followed the fairy through the starry sky. On board, several soldiers were strapped into jetpacks.
"Our enemy is a mixed blood of a fairy and a hex. We can assume she is very powerful in aerial combat."
There are many demi-humans with the ability to fly, but aerial combat with them never happened before. The crew members were feeling unprecedented tension.
"We are about to engage!"
The US-2 quickly caught up with Amamiya. From the cockpit window overlooking the forward view, they could see Amamiya floating gracefully through the starry sky with a twinkling light fluttering in the air.
"There she is! Don't let her escape! All hands, prepare for battle!"
The US-2 took a right turn and positioned itself so that the left side of the plane is facing her. A rifle peeking out of a small window on the left was aimed at the flying fairy. The bullets have been replaced by non-lethal taser rounds. The soldiers with jet packs were to capture her.
"...Detecting sudden infrared reaction from above!"
The gunner put his hand on his gun. At that moment, a magic circle appeared directly above the US-2, and the infrared detection crew spotted it on the device. One of the gunners looked up through the bubble window and saw the magic circle sitting in the night sky. Lieutenant Sudo, sitting in the pilot's seat, immediately yanked the control stick to the left. Immediately after, a shock wave was unleashed from the magic circle.
ZOOOOOM!!
The shock wave snatched the right wing and flowed into the sea. The crew members were chilled to the bone. Looking ahead from the cockpit, they saw Amamiya hovering in midair, holding her hands out toward the US-2.
'That's the power of my father, a hex. I have no blind spot!'
She snapped her fingers. Then several magic circles appeared in the air and surrounded the US-2. Soon after that, the magic circle on the plane's left side began to glow.
"UWOOOOOOAH!"
Sudo, desperate to save his life, moved the control stick to bring the US-2 into a descent. Immediately afterward, a shockwave from the magic circle hit the top of the plane. The outer wall of the plane is partially blown off by the shockwave.
'Take that! Fairy Wrap!'
Amamiya snapped her fingers several times. As if in response to the gesture, the magic circles shone brighter and brighter.
"It's one or two more! Destroy the magic circle with the machine gun!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
The gunner manning the machine gun aimed at one of the magic circles, receiving an order from the fire control officer. Immediately after, the sound of gunfire echoed in the black night sky, and bullets were unleashed. The bullets successfully struck the magic circle and shattered it to pieces.
"Attack effective!"
"Good! Continue!"
Seeing the shattered magic circle, the shaken crew members calmed down. The gunners destroyed the magic circle one after another. However, the magic circle that they failed to take out turned even brighter, and one after another, shockwaves were unleashed toward the US-2.
"E-EVADEEEEEEEE...!!"
Sudo maneuvered the US-2 like a small plane, moving it acrobatically to the right, left, up, and down. However, he was unable to avoid all of them and the plane was hit by several shockwaves. The outer wall of the fuselage was dented and parts flew off.
'...!!'
Amamiya attempted to launch another attack on the enemy plane which had barely passed through the magic circles. However, she was nearing the limit of her magical power, and her breathing was becoming ragged.
"Hah, hah...!"
By launching numerous magic attacks at once, Amamiya had consumed more magic power than she could have imagined. Sudo and the gunner aiming at her did not miss the split-second opportunity, and the US-2 approached the exhausted fairy, while the gunner focused his taser gun on Amamiya.
"...Now! EAT THIS!"
Several blasts were fired from the rifle. They hit Amamiya's body, sending an electric shock through her.
"Kyaaaa!"
Amamiya, who did not have the strength to conjure a magic barrier, screamed helplessly. Immediately after that, she fainted and fell into the darkness of the sea.
"...Move!"
The rear doors of the US-2 opened, and three soldiers with jetpacks on their backs jumped out. The three soldiers chased after the falling Amamiya and captured her, then they fired their jetpacks at full throttle toward the sea surface.
"Ai Amamiya... has been taken into custody on suspicion of obstruction of justice and violation of the Narcotics Control Law!"
One of the soldiers held the unconscious Amamiya and reported her successful capture. The soldiers then returned to the battered US-2. Amamiya was restrained unconscious and escorted back to the base.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 22
Bucholz Imperial Naval Air Station, Kwajalein
The next day, Amamiya was taken into custody and sequestered in the brig. This is a punishment cell that has existed since this airfield was under the jurisdiction of the US military. Members of the Imperial Japanese Navy call this place "brig" in reference to the 20th-century Japanese military. In fact, it was very rarely used for its original purpose and was used as a storeroom. In the small cell, Amamiya was quiet. The air battle yesterday had consumed a great deal of her magical power, and it was taking her a long time to recover from it.
"........."
Lieutenant Sudo peeked into the cell through a small window. Then a subordinate came to deliver a report.
"Lieutenant, I have a message from home. A special unit for transporting demi-humans and mages will arrive from the National Police Agency this evening."
"I see..." Sudo replied curtly.
For demi-human and mage criminals with powers beyond human understanding, escorting them away from custody is an extremely difficult task for ordinary people. The government is working on a restraint system to contain the magical powers of the criminals, but they have yet to be mass-produced. For this reason, a group specializing in transporting such criminals has been set up within the National Police Agency, and the cooperation of this group is being sought for long-distance escorts of such criminals. Rumor has it that there is a "forbidden magic" that strips a person of his or her inner self and brings the entirety of their soul under the caster's control.
"........."
Sudo once again turned his gaze toward the inside of the cell. Amamiya noticed this and looked back into Sudo's eyes with a sly smile.
"You... why are you making these things? Is it revenge?"
Sudo asked her about her motive for the crime. Her parents, who had colluded with the yakuza to manufacture and distribute drugs, were executed not too long after the police secured them. Although they completely deserved it, it still didn't change the fact that humanity killed her parents. Therefore, Sudo thought that this might be the motive for this case. However, what she said was beyond Sudo and his team's imagination.
"Fufu... revenge? Nay, I'm not interested in that. What I am working to... is to bring love to human beings just like what my name, 'Ai,' (lit. "Love") represents. I will bring salvation to those who wish to die in this devastated world by offering them a great deal of pleasure in the form of a grandiose death... That is my love. How I loved humanity. Hahaha...!"
'She's crazy...!'
Amamiya started giggling. She said that she burned them to death because she loves humanity. Sudo and his subordinate standing next to him felt a chill run down their spines. They shuddered at the thought that no ordinary human being could ever reach.
Soon after, a convoy from Japan arrived and escorted Amamiya back to Japan. As the full details of the case came to light, the National Police Agency Security Bureau's International Crime Prevention and Control Division, which had been sent to the Philippines, and the Imperial Navy's Palau Dispatch Force Headquarters uncovered the Pleasure Fire sales offices scattered throughout the country one by one, and the case was rapidly brought to a close.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
August 31
National Police Agency, Tokyo, Japanese Empire
The International Crime Prevention and Control Division of the National Police Agency Security Bureau is a department whose mission is to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals outside of Japan and to secure Japanese nationals who have committed crimes abroad. Now that the Philippine and South Pacific drug proliferation case has been resolved with the arrest of the suspect, the staff is busy dealing with the aftermath of the case. Now, Superintendent Shiro Aida, the division chief, is thinking about the "certain threat" revealed in the case.
'Fairies and hexes... through mixed blood between demi-humans with powerful special abilities, a being was born that combines the pharmaceutical prowess of the fairies with the offensive power of the hexes... It was believed that the threat of demi-humans would diminish through interbreeding with humans, but the threat has grown stronger with each intermarriage when it comes to powerful demi-humans. And that's just...'
Japan is the only country in the world with a complete rule of law, but it is a land of chaos where the demi-humans and their descendants hailing from the other world of Terralus blend into human society and live together, where evil spirits of rivers and mountains are mixed with human society.
However, not all demi-humans have chosen to walk with humanity, and there are those who have chosen to distance themselves from humans because of their different lifespans. They have formed their own communities, with a "certain race," which is called the strongest among the officially announced demi-human races, at the top. People call it the Dragon King Village where the long-lived race and the demi-humans with special abilities gather. In that closed village, powerful demi-humans repeatedly intermarry with each other, and the officially strongest race that rules the village is said to be growing more powerful with each passing generation.
'...The closed nature of the village indeed delayed the exposure of Ai Amamiya's escape from the country. I'll have to reveal the whole story of the Dragon King Village someday.'
Aida had been thinking that someday, he would take a scalpel to the community, a group of demi-humans separated from human society.
Then, a few years later, someone planned to challenge humanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US-2
A flying boat developed in the early 21st century. After the engines were replaced by domestic ones, various derivatives were developed, including a civilian type, a low-cost type, and a gunship type. Currently, no new models are being manufactured, and their main field of activity is overseas. A gunship variant is stationed in the Marshall Islands.