"Are you Beena?" asked a man who appeared to be the Captain of the Private Guards.
"Y-yes, I am," Beena replied, her face pale.
"I see. You’re coming with us."
"Wait. Do you intend to take her without even giving a reason?"
Jin stepped forward as he spoke, but the Captain of the Private Guards ignored him and simply jerked his chin toward his subordinates.
Upon that signal, two soldiers shoved Jin aside and grabbed Beena by both arms.
"H-hey! What do you think you’re doing!?"
She tried to shake them off, but Beena’s strength was no match for theirs.
"Stop it!" Jin shouted, trying to pull the soldiers away.
"Shut up, you."
A hand swung out as if swatting an annoying insect, striking Jin across the face.
"Ow!"
"!!!"
In that instant, a gust of wind swept past.
That wind’s name was Reiko.
"Kyaa!"
"Whoa!?"
Beena and the two soldiers holding her were suddenly launched into the air. They flew to a height of five meters.
Hurled so high, the soldiers had no choice but to let go of Beena’s arms. Knowing it was futile, they flailed their hands in mid-air, making a desperate struggle to somehow regain their balance.
Then, Reiko caught the now-free Beena in a bridal carry with a single leap and landed safely. Behind her, the two soldiers—who obviously couldn't fly—slammed into the ground and lost consciousness. Since they had fallen on their backs, it seemed they had at least avoided breaking their necks.
"T-thank you," Beena said in a trembling voice.
Reiko looked at her with cold indifference. "I did not do this to save you. I simply could not forgive those who struck Father. Your rescue was merely incidental."
Beena’s face twitched slightly at the blunt dismissal.
"Ah, she went and did it," Jin muttered, reflexively looking up at the sky.
"Y-you! Who the hell are you!?" the Captain of the Private Guards roared.
"Ah... could you just leave after that?" Jin tried to ask.
But the Captain was already barking orders to his remaining men. "Kill everyone except Beena!"
Ah, it’s over, Jin sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, Beena had been moved to a safe distance, where she could only stare wordlessly with a pale, shocked face.
Reiko turned to face the eight charging soldiers without a flicker of fear.
"What’s with this brat?"
Sensing something ominous from Reiko as she walked toward them with total composure, the soldiers slowed their pace, watching her warily.
Reiko took another step, closing the distance with the lead soldier...
"Ugh!"
Before the man even realized what had happened, he was face-down on the ground.
As if the spell of hesitation had been broken, the other soldiers shouted, "You little brat!" and "Take this!" as they slashed at her.
But Reiko made no move to dodge. In the next moment, it was the soldiers who were paralyzed by terror.
"You truly thought such blunt toys could harm this body, given to me by my Father?"
A soldier’s sword had struck Reiko square on the top of her head. However, it failed to cut even a single strand of her hair.
"W-waaah!"
Another soldier swung at Reiko’s waist, but the blade stopped dead, unable to pierce her clothes, let alone her skin.
"How about this!"
Yet another soldier lunged forward, aiming his sword precisely at Reiko’s chest. But the tip failed to penetrate even a single millimeter.
Her clothes were made from the silk of a Ground Spider; they could not be damaged unless struck by a weapon with high-level enchantments, such as a holy or magic sword. Furthermore, Reiko had currently Reinforced herself with her own magical power.
"Don't you realize it's futile?"
Reiko casually grabbed their swords and crushed the steel in her palms. The blades were discarded at her feet as mangled lumps of metal.
Reiko’s skin was crafted from the wing membrane of a Sham Dragon—supple, yet incredibly tough. When infused with magical power, it became harder than steel.
"H-hiieee! She’s a demon!"
The soldiers began to back away, but Reiko’s expression didn't change.
"You are quick to torment the weak, yet the first to flee when you encounter the strong. How pathetic," she murmured, then kicked off the ground.
"Gyah!"
In a flash, Reiko circled around the fleeing soldiers, knocking out the lead man with a single blow to the solar plexus. She then grabbed him by the leg and hoisted him with one hand.
"Gyah!"
"Gwah!"
Using the grown man as a makeshift club, Reiko swung him around and mowed down the remaining soldiers.
"You've got to be kidding..."
The last man muttered his disbelief before being sent flying. Watching the carnage, the Captain of the Private Guards stammered, "You... are you a monster?" He readied his sword in his right hand.
It appeared the Captain could use magic, as a red magi-stone was embedded in the hilt of his blade.
"Fireball!"
A ball of flame nearly two meters across erupted from the tip of his sword.
"Child's play."
Reiko extinguished the fireball with a single wave of her right hand.
"What!? Then how about this! 'O flame, incinerate all! Flame Storm!'"
The Captain unleashed his strongest magic with everything he had. Simultaneously, the red magi-stone on his sword’s hilt shattered into dust.
The Flame Storm assaulted Reiko from all directions—front, back, and sides. Having finally come to her senses, Beena ran toward Jin.
"Jin! Reiko is in there! I know she’s an artifact-class automata, but—!"
But Jin, now completely resigned to the outcome, replied, "It’s fine. There's no way a spell of that level could do anything to my Reiko."
True to his words, as the raging storm of flames subsided, Reiko emerged, standing there as if she had just stepped through a light breeze.
"Is that the strongest magic you can use?"
The materials that composed Reiko’s body were of the highest class in the world in terms of both magical and physical resistance. Without even deploying a barrier, nothing short of legendary-class magic could harm her.
"W-w-waaaah!"
Seeing an opponent who was completely unaffected by the magic that had slain dozens before, even the Captain’s spirit finally broke. He began to swing his sword around frantically, his eyes wide with madness.
Reiko aimed her magic at that sword.
"Induction."
It was a spell Jin had taught her: high-frequency eddy currents. The magic generated intense heat within metal.
"Hot!"
The Captain’s sword glowed red-hot in an instant. Unable to hold it a moment longer, he shrieked and dropped the blade. Now, he was completely unarmed.
"Hie..."
He cowered as Reiko approached step by step. Like a frog stared down by a snake, he couldn't even run; he simply turned pale and trembled.
"Apologize in hell for pointing your sword at Father."
With those final words, Reiko swung her right hand.