(Note: Credit goes to the original video poster. I am just merely providing a translation)
...I can hear the sound of the wind.
...Even here.
...The sound of blowing wind is different from my hometown.
Engine City Hong Kong.
A special heavy industrial city in Asia's largest country of Xing, one that boasted a long history and was sometimes even compared to a dragon.
It was a cultural mix where concessions of the European powers including the British Empire gathered...
A modern city that even served as the cornerstone of commerce and distribution in Asia.
Although the exact measurement is deemed impossible, for those living in the Kowloon Peninsula, its total population are said to be in the millions.
It was also a city that faced the port, with the scent of salt in the air from the wind blowing in the night sky.
He liked the sea breeze.
He was a student.
He was a tall man.
He was tall and had long grey hair put around the nape of his neck like it was a snake's tail.
Nothing else was particular other than the fact he was well put together.
Perhaps his large mouth would be his one distinctive feature.
Although his large eyes could be particular, one's first impression of him was being a "smart young man".
And that itself is what helped to put the man together.
No one knew of his race or nationality.
One would guess if they say he was European, and nod if they say he was Asian.
If one said he was of mixed race, they would murmur "I see".
He was a young man who fitted well in the streets.
At the foot of a group of modern era skyscrapers were the exhaust smoke from the Engines filling the sky reminiscent of the fog in London...
Main street of Wan Chai Districted illuminated by Engine Lights.
There were a variety of food stalls with large and small Engine-style panel signboards with a mix of Kanji and English words.
Although Asians made up the majority, it was a place where many races come and go.
Nothing was off about the way the man leisurely walking there.
In fact, no one paid any attention to the man's appearance.
He was a young man who was good at blending in.
"Ah. I'm feeling pretty energetic."
That is unless someone were to call out to the man.
The owner of a noodle stall wouldn't have noticed him.
Nor would even they happen to be someone who favored their establishment and was one of their young customers.
Stall Owner: Oh hey, Richard. You on your way home from school?
"I am, yes."
Stall Owner: Care for a drink as a midnight snack?
"No. I just came from Kwan Tsing after eating fish and chips. I'm still full."
Stall Owner: What a shame.
Stall Owner: Though our food stalls are better than your British ones.
"Yes. Still, I might come later to see."
Stall Owner: You'll want a midnight snack then. I'm guessing you'll studying all night again? You seem to be quite energetic.
Stall Owner: Don't push yourself too much, though.
"Thank you very much."
With a nod, the young man leaves the stall.
After continuing onto the main street for a while, he turned over into a back alley...
Going down the dark back alley was where the smoke exhaust was relatively dense.
He coughs a little.
It was of no surprise. It was this era...
1908 marked the beginning of the 20th century. In the modern era, big cities and smoke were something that can't be separated.
This was common knowledge from the last century. The remarkable development of Steam Engine technology brought about prosperity to human civilization. But in its place were smoke and liquid waste.
The sea was dyed in black.
The sky was veiled in grey.
No one looks up to the night sky anymore.
The same goes for Hong Kong.
It was in the last century did the stars appear in the night sky.
It has been a long time since anyone stopped staring at the night sky in the 20th century.
No more were there any starlight.
Unlesss one was certainly an elder, no one could think of the meaning of the word "scenery".
That goes the same for the younger people.
And...
In the back alley where the young man walk through, there was a girl playing with pebbles on rusty metal stairs...
He doubted if even she knew of the word star.
"I'm home, Meimei."
Meimei: Ah. Welcome back, Richard gee gee!
The girl smiled big.
She noticed the many pebbles she had lining up the stairs and rushes to clean them up.
"That's alright."
The young man gently took control with a hand, saying he didn't mind.
"I can carefully make my way up.
Oh, is that what I think it is? Chachikou Sanguan (Tic Tac Toe)?"
Meimei: Yes!
"Were you planning on playing by yourself?"
Meimei: I wanted to play with someone, but everyone went home.
"How about I join you for a little bit?"
Meimei: Yay! That's why I love you, Richard gee!
"Thank you."
The young man sat down a few books bundled up in a book on the flights of stairs and crouched down beside the girl.
The girl was playing a game that is ordinarily played was one where you compete by lining up circles and X's.
It was called Chachikou Sanguan in Hong Kong, and it was a game that also exists in Europe.
There were three characters literally in the character "Chi", and it was quite simple: If you line them up first, you win.
That said, playing by yourself was quite difficult.
Although the word "lonely" came to mind, he didn't say it aloud.
The girl had angular and round stones in place of circle's and X's, so it was going to be done differently.
In that case, the young man picked the angular stones...
There came the 2nd and 3rd matches.
He didn't look at the time.
By the time the 5th match was done, the girl let out a high-pitched sound.
It was the sign of a person.
Upon looking, he saw a woman dressed in a cheap Chinese dress.
It was a young Hong Kong woman alone in the back alley.
Just like the young man before her, she too had coughed from the stagnant exhaust smoke as she walked here.
Meimei: Mama!
Young mother: I'm home... Ah. It's you, Richard. She wasn't a bother to you by any chance, was she...?
"No. She wasn't a bother, at all."
Young mother: Thank you so much as ever, Richard.
"No problem."
He nods vaguely at the young, attractive woman.
Yes. Attractive. She'd have been as beautiful as a flower had she possessed better nutrition.
In truth, her beauty was mundane.
It was understandable.
The modernity of Hong Kong was too much for a single mother and daughter living alone.
The woman and the girl who he had fun with offered to let him eat at their room as gratitude, but the man gently turns down the offer...
The young man ascended up the stairs to his room on the third floor.
The mother. The daughter. It was clear that he was liked by the both of them...
What happened with the woman was something he knew clear of when it came to both sexes.
In fact, he had used it for work several times before.
Now, there was no need for it.
Tonight was perhaps the last time he'll have this sort of interaction with them.
He proceeded into the dark room without turning on the Engine Light.
It was an inorganic room, which was not much different from when he moved in. Aside from a built-in desk and a chair, there was a foldable bed.
The number of books he had were small for a student.
In fact, the books were enough for the young man to read through.
"...Has it arrived?"
He looks at his desk, which should have been empty, to find a single letter.
Standing out was a sealing wax in the shape of a rose.
The sender was not written on it.
The address was not to Richard Wong...
[MacGregor Mathers]
That was his name.
The one he gave to himself, not the one he used temporarily in Hong Kong.
It was given to him by his great teacher.
The Equation user, Abramelin.
The young man...Mathers, opens up the envelope and sees a letter inside.
Even in the dark, the sentence was clearly legible.
In other words...
[Your Admission has been welcomed by Marseille Offshore Academia]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It was early morning at sea.
A swarm of airships were coming and going.
Sometimes, they could be mistaken for seabirds.
After a certain distance above, it would be quite difficult to discern a ship from birds flying through the air.
Expectedly, they could even be referred to as flying ships.
No one would be expected to mistake them for a Zeppelin-type airship.
Lying between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Penisula was the Victoria Airfield...
It was to have once been a harbor. In the 20th century, it was used before by seaships. Right now, that role has been handed down to air and flying ships.
From there, where many ships have once flown from, now Zeppelin ships have taken off from there.
There was a slow giant body floating up in the sky, appearing so like a dragon rearing its body.
He can clearly see it from here.
This place, one which had many trees.
...It was Ocean Park Hong Kong.
It was early in the morning before the Engine Factories restarted.
The time of day where the air was the clearest.
The young man...
MacGregor Mathers, was leisurely walking about while exhaling purple smoke.
He couldn't help to admire it.
Quite often did he smoke cheap cigarettes.
Agent: Quite the sad face you got there.
Said a man donning a hunting cap.
He was sitting on a bench with a spreaded newspaper behind Mathers.
The man was a liaison.
He was a member of a secret organization Mathers is a part of...
He was also the person who gave him the false name "Richard Wong".
They were the same as Senior Agents when it comes to positions, but for all operations in Hong Kong, he was the acting commander.
Agent: Are you dissatisfied with your latest mission?
Mathers: Not really.
He responded briefly with an exhale of purple smoke.
He couldn't be dissatisfied with it.
Agent: If you say to.
Agent: You were the one who volunteered to do it.
Mathers: ...
There was silence...
Agent: I know it just by looking at your face.
Said the man, even though he wasn't looking at him.
Despite never leaving his eyes from the newspaper, Mathers could feel his gaze over him.
Agent: We are members of the Society. And the Society has a grasp on all of its members. They are literally everywhere.
Agent: There are to be no personal feelings when completing the mission. We'd want someone who can be able to hold themselves on their own even if they don't need them, which is what I look out for. My condolences.
Mathers: Emotions do not matter.
Agent: Indeed.
Agent: Someone with emotions would not be able to slaughter a whole family.
They were speaking in regards to the second mission he had completed after coming to Hong Kong. The complete annihilation of the target.
It was nothing more than a peacetime mission.
The man held himself much more with his emotions.
Though he thought of such, Mathers did not say it aloud.
Such refutes would be meaningless.
Agent: That said, what's with that look you got there?
Mathers: It's a formal wear.
Agent: Ha?
He didn't even respond to the suspicious voice.
Mathers was certainly the same as yesterday in changing his clothes.
Rather than a plain white shirt, the site of his next mission was...
Marseille Offshore Academia.
He had on a type of formal wear or uniform.
A black, long-hemmed jacket and tie.
The cane in his hand was of his property. No. It was a "weapon" he used for necessity for every mission.
Agent: Quite the cheeky one, you are. You Covenanters can be so lively, it's such a creepy joke.
Mathers: It just saves me the trouble.
He didn't complain.
Only one thing he said.
Prior to coming over to the park, he had already erased all traces of himself from the apartment he was using up until last night.
Thus, he changed into a more suitable appearance for his next mission.
There weren't any direct flights from Hong Kong to Marseille, but there were many transit points.
There wasn't any time for him to stay around Paris.
Agent: ...Ah, that's about right.
Said the man.
Rather than asking what it was for, he simply lets out a puff of smoke.
Agent: I got one last job for you in Hong Kong. There was a tip about a secret laboratory of Wunderkammer in Kowloon Sing.
Agent: Once you retrieve the data from there, eliminate the staff. Just the people there alone suffice.
Mathers: Always gotta be rough with people, huh?
Agent: You Covenantors always got something to say.
The man laughs, then snaps his fingers.
Accordingly...
There was a small shadow that appeared from the shade of a tree next to the bench.
He had felt its presence from the beginning.
It's appearance was so unexpected that Mathers couldn't help raise an eyebrow.
Mathers: What's this?
Agent: I'm having this one added to you. Consider it insurance.
A small figure stood before him.
It was a girl.
A girl who looked like a machine.
Listening carefully, he can almost hear the operating sounds.
She was an inorganic, expressionless girl wearing Western clothes.
They were those of a young lady from the British Concession.
If someone were to ask how well done they were, they'd nod, for it was no surprise in seeing an Automaton as it was.
Mathers: A Shadowmen...
Agent: It's the latest model. Don't get it destroyed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
....Kowloon.
There were several origins to that name.
One came from a theory about a dragon and nine mountains in Hong Kong.
Another was a theory about all nine brothers turning into dragons.
It was said to be based on a family that named after Dragon.
For MacGregor Mathers, who was both a thoroughly trained and reserved person, such tales did not resonate with his spirit.
However, he was more impressed with the city's appearance rather than the name of the cityscape.
Ryu. Dragon.
It wasn't one or two, but nine of them.
It was an evil entity worthy of the grand title it seemed to embody.
Yet he couldn't help, but feel some sympathy for it.
In the Orient, the Dragon embodied divinity and guardianship...
But the feeling of such an intense city, this chaotic place that was called Kowloon or Kowloon Sing was the exact opposite of that.
It was the same as the Dragon in Europe.
That being viciousness of the highest treson.
Uncontrolled chaos itself.
Kowloon Sing...
It was where the poorest people in Hong Kong congregated to.
There, it lies countless small buildings that eventually turned into one giant castle.
That was it.
A chaotic castle were maps were meaningless.
The pathes didn't go just forward and backwards, but also up and down, filling all gaps in space.
Roads, rooms, buildings. All of it blended together.
Worst of all was the security.
For instance...
In a room directly above the alley where children slurp noodles, there were longshoremen who died from Opium overdose and skeletal remains of gangsters.
And such has become the norm.
A fitting field for a shadow run.
Even Hong Kong's Engineerized Police Force known for their excellency are unable to completely control Hong Kong.
Shadowmen: [Up here.]
A silent voice echoed in Mather's mind.
It belonged to the machine girl who was introduced to him by his contact in the morning.
To be exact, it was a Shadowmen.
They were a synthetic human created by the large secret organization called the Society that Mathers is a part of.
It was Human-like. It was Shadow-like. A product of super science that should have been impossible to develop scientifically wise as of 1908 in the flourishing Steam Engine civilization.
Some people have taken light of magic or alchemy.
But what was it, exactly?
It was said the Society was an alchemic society from the Middle Ages.
It was said they also follow the flow of magical societies.
So perhaps, none would be off the mark on it.
In fact, even his own skills weren't any different.
Shadowmen: [Straight here.]
Mathers: Don't bother. There are obstacles here.
Shadowmen: [If a detour is taken, 50 minutes of time will be wasted.]
Mathers: Very well.
Mumbling slightly, Mathers goes on ahead.
Towards the end of the back alley beyond his sight, there were a pair of local mafia members.
Judging by their appearance, they seemed to be members of the Ban.
They were really big and muscular...
They were armed, one with a large caliber revolver while the other with a large Orient knife.
Both had old scars on their face with tattoos on their shoulders.
Neither could be said to be anything fake.
With a movement that gave the sense of having actual combat experience, the two turned their eyes and spoke with caution towards the man.
Chinese Mafia 1: Entrance is not permitted from this point on.
Chinese Mafia 2: Stop right there. If you don't stop, we'll kill you.
He ignored the two's voices.
His walking never stopped.
Rather, his pace had picked up.
In response, the man on the right immediately went on the offensive.
They were quite a tricky category as they had less hesitation than their counterpart in the Police.
They pulled out their gun and placed it directly at their forehead.
This was not in anyway a form of intimidation.
Their aim held the intent of taking a life...
I see, Mathers sighed inwardly.
They didn't panic nor shot recklessly. Simply just aiming.
They were like a professional. If so, then this can only be dealt with professionally.
...The trigger.
...That moment, it was pulled by those thick fingers.
The man on the right had collapsed, still holding onto the gun.
The man on the left was attempting to get through to the person he was speaking to by radio, but was left stunned and speechless when the man beside him suddenly collasped.
Everything.
It went just as planned by Mathers.
Mathers: Too bad.
He spoke quietly to the man on the left who withdrew his large knife in a panic.
While increasing his walking pace, he held up the cane in his right hand...
Mathers: Oriens...
A short mumble of a Power Word.
It was simple.
Often times, narrow streets would reflect sounds.
As a serious professional, his mind was focused on making a combative action.
This combustion should act as a surprise attack on the man.
Mather's words have spuned into power.
It became a collage of scattered numbers, reaching into the man's ear and into his eardrums...
It dove into his brain, where it automatically assembled into a singular equation.
And then, the equation combusts the man's mind.
Just like the man with the gun, the man had fallen with the whites of his eyes peeled and blood flowing from his ears while holding his knife high up in the air.
Not a sound was made.
The two men had been killed.
This was Mather's Art as a Covenanter.
Through accelerating his cerebral thought process and spurning some words, he can instantly kill his enemies derived from a certain equation.
This was an abnormal technique beyond human comprehension.
One feared by even the very same members of the Society...
Shadowmen: [Elimination of two obstacles. Confirmed.]
Mathers: Let us proceed.
Shadowmen: [Affirmative.]
Climbing over the fallen bodies, he proceeds.
From here on, it was a time attack.
It was unclear whether Wunderkammer was in cahoots with the Ban.
However...
At the very least, Ban had quickly lost contact with its members.
What they do from here depends on the groups skill level.
Despite being a local mafia, he couldn't get so optimistic.
This was Engine City Hong Kong. This was a large city where secret battles between intelligent organizations of major powers were commonplace.
Naturally, they reigned in the local underworld.
The mafia's skill level was also rising up.
Mathers: Let's hurry it along.
Without waiting for the Shadowmen's response, he ran.
He was so close to his destination.
There were no more obstacles along the way.
He infiltrated a research facility that was disguised as a private house.
As he was certain it was already sniffed out by the Ban, he had no need to worry about any covert actions.
The door was kicked open violently.
He proceeds into the room...
Mathers frowned as a strong smell of blood wafts through the air.
It appeared to be a state-of-the-art Engineering research facility.
He can confirm it by a terminal being connected to an ordinateur.
Most of it was destroyed.
Everything from standard informational documents, files, photographs and film were scattered all over the floor.
And the documents were stained.
In a bright color.
Dismembered limbs were scattered across the floor.
The clothing, originally of a white color, were stained in blood.
The researchers' bodies were utterly torn apart.
The fresh cut areas of the surface gushed blood out in a rhythm akin to a heartbeat.
In other words, it hadn't been too long since the murder had taken place.
Mathers: The previous visitor...
He instantly muttered...
...A click. A sound had come from somewhere.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
...A muffled sound echos in the distance.
Accompanied by a slight vibration, it indicated that the explosives planted in the research facility have gone up.
It appears that the fuse was set to go off seconds after the subject enters the facility.
It was common sense to think that the target, who attempted to hack&slash through the facility would certainly have died.
Atop a corner of Kowloon Sing.
In a space where countless beams drew a geometric pattern, a crowd of people nodded.
There were three of them.
No. Perhaps it might be different to call them three people?
They...
No, the trio's smooth limbs were definitely that of a female.
They can be said to be of a similar existence.
They were all females.
They nodded in a motion akin to a mechanical puppet.
Doll: [Elimination of enemy operative is confirmed]
[Securing research information of facility in question]
[Returning back to base]
They nodded again.
And then...
Mathers: Sorry. This one ain't quite dead.
A voice echoed.
The three's eyed turned to the source of the voice.
In a black, long-hemmed jacket and tie.
With a cane shaped like a snake in his right hand.
There was MacGregor Mathers.
Mathers: So this is Wunderkammer's custom-made battle dolls, huh?
His eyes...
Opens up narrowly.
Those eyes held a sharp intent as it glared at the three shadows of the doll-like woman.
Appearing on his lips was a shark-like smile.
A shark's smile?
No, sharks do not smile.
In other words, such an imitation of an impossible smile instantly overwhelmed the three non-humans.
Doll: [The Society's Covenanter...!]
Mathers: Glad you understand.
He muttered and raised his cane.
He activates the Circuit embedded in his brain.
Abramelin Equation: Excited.
Abramelin Equation: Expanded.
Abramelin Equation: Ready for Opening Completed.
Now in sync with his spinal cord, his neural accelerator was in operation.
This was now different from the game before.
MacGregor Mathers's body instantly ceased being Human...
It has transformed into a high-performance fighting machine shaped like a Human.
He was able to do it in an instant, though he would have liked for it to start up in two seconds.
For instance. Even though he was able to instantly activate and protect himself the moment the research facility exploded, the burden on his cerebrum was expectedly significant with his head still hurting.
Right now, these three goofy figures had given him two seconds.
Thanks to that, he was able to have a slow start up.
With it, the Abramelin Equation could expand without issue.
And behold.
There at the tip of his cane was Cracking light!
The great radiance of Abramelin was rewriting base reality...
Mathers: Now then.
He stood calm and assessed his surroundings.
His objective now was the three of them.
Despite having the form of a woman, he was glad they weren't Human.
Were he to kill a living woman that night, he'd have a hard time sleeping.
Were it his mentor Aleister Crowley, he'd point and laugh...
Were it his mentor Macgregor who taught him the Equation, he would have sighed and spoke a quote from some phrase from a book.
Doll: [Eliminate enemy operative.]
[Understood.]
[Understood.]
A humanoid shadow approaches him.
It was still in the shape of a woman.
There was a very Oriental look on her face.
Tags were pasted over their long limbs where special blades were attached.
Only the torso showed any signs of feminity.
In any case, there were filled inside with Engine Machines created by some strange Scholar.
In that case, he had no need to hesitate.
He raised his cane in his right hand once more.
The nerves strengthened the Equation's expansion sped up all of his actions.
Just before the long blade could sever his neck, he thrusts his cane out.
Mathers: ...Belial.
With a word.
The tip of his cane emits an intense light!
The light showed a shape representing a certain mathematical equation.
The following moment left a shock.
Now, it begins with the first.
The humanoid figure of the first in the shape of a woman shook its head.
First, the long blade cracked and shattered.
Then, cracks ran through the humanoid's body.
The female body pitifully creaked as it was suspended in the air.
Doll: [A, ah...]
A voice leaks out from its creaking neck.
He had no need to listen to its end.
With a snap of his fingers from his free left hand, the humanoid figure shatters into pieces.
It was like a statue that got shattered by a large sledgehammer.
As the Power Word implies, the target became worthless debris of gears and engines.
It turned into nothing but a pile of artificial muscle fibers.
Its destructive power was akin to a cannon.
An Equation that was used against chrome and Engine Arms.
Doll: [Covenanter.]
[Human-weapon of the Society]
The two remaining beings raised their voices.
It seems they planned to continue on.
In response, he raised his cane once more.
The cane was the key...
It was his own talisman of protection. Even now tonight, this would surely keep alive through it.
"Okay then."
For tomorrow's land of death.
He will pass through today's land of death.
...I got nothing to worry.
...Even in the worst case scenario, I'll simply perish.
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