Reinhard had spent the morning at Stearena’s house.
They had gathered to discuss golem control, and to assist in the demonstration, Reinhard had brought along his own creation, the Schwarzritter.
Given Jin’s recent warning, Reinhard had also deployed five guards around the perimeter of the residence. They were a mix of his personal detail and soldiers dispatched from the Shouro Empire.
"Welcome, Reinhard-kun."
Since the previous evening, Stearena had begun addressing him with the "-kun" honorific.
"Good morning, Stearena," Reinhard replied, addressing her casually in return.
He was shown inside and guided to a spacious living room. There, two golems and two Automata of Stearena’s design stood waiting.
"These are my current masterpieces," she said proudly.
"Hmm, marvelous."
One golem was a twin of Celes, the crystal golem destroyed at the recent Golem Party. The other was a steel male-type golem. The two Automata consisted of a girl in her late teens and an adult woman.
"The golems are Eris and Castor. The Automata are Sirene and Mirene."
Wasting no time on further pleasantries, the two dove into a technical discussion. It was a clear display of their shared artisan nature.
"Regarding the crystal golem—from what I can see, you’re operating it via Forming magic, aren't you? Doesn't that make the mana efficiency quite poor?" Reinhard asked.
Stearena nodded. "It does. That’s why I apply a weak Softening spell to the moving parts simultaneously with the Forming."
"I see. Does that save about thirty percent compared to using Forming alone?"
"You're sharp. It's actually closer to twenty-five percent. Long-term operation is still out of the question, but then again, the purpose of a crystal golem isn't practicality."
Reinhard nodded in agreement. "True. It was quite a shock when I first saw Celes. It’s a design philosophy someone like me would never have conceived."
"Oh, thank you. And what do you think of Castor?" she asked, gesturing to the male-type golem.
"Well... it’s a quintessential example of what happens when a female magi craftman creates a male-type, I suppose."
The golem had a slender, refined physique—the sort of male character one might find in a shoujo manga. Stearena gave a soft laugh at his assessment.
"I’ve never been very fond of rugged men," she admitted. Reinhard let the comment pass and moved on.
"Structurally, what did you use for the core body?"
"Soft magi-resin."
Soft magi-resin was the standard material for general golem bodies, a resin harvested from the mana-rich magi-pine. Essentially, it was like pine resin imbued with magical properties. It was common practice to alter the additives based on the golem's purpose, such as mixing in powdered mithril to enhance mana capacity or lead to increase weight.
For combat golems, some even used low-quality magi-stones. The golems that Jin had defeated in the past—the ones used to upgrade Gon and Gen—had been built that way. Golems with true skeletons and musculature, like the ones Jin crafted, were exceptionally rare.
"And the additives? My Schwarzritter uses a blend of mithril and adamantite powder," Reinhard said, revealing a small secret of his own craft.
"Adamantite powder? Whatever for?"
"One reason is weight; adamantite is heavier than lead. As for the other... why don't you try to guess?" Reinhard said with a mischievous smile.
"Hmm, let's see... I’m not sure. Adamantite attenuates mana, while mithril conducts it. They’re opposites, aren't they?"
Reinhard offered a hint. "You’re close. But I didn't say I was using them 'mixed' together."
The hint clicked for Stearena immediately. She was a top-tier magi craftman, after all.
"I see! You’re using mithril in some areas and adamantite in others!"
"Exactly. Mithril for the arms and legs, and adamantite for the torso. I also use adamantite for the tips of the hands and feet."
Stearena looked at Reinhard with genuine admiration. "You really are incredible. Well then, I should tell you about—"
She was cut off by a violent crash.
"What was that?"
"The entrance?"
Reinhard and Stearena bolted to their feet and ran into the hallway.
"!!"
Four golems, each over two meters tall and gleaming with a dull silver finish, stood there. Reinhard recognized the armor design immediately.
"Unifilar?!"
"How did they get in here?!" Stearena cried. "What were the Dali security golems doing?"
"What happened to my guards?" Reinhard added.
"IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW MANY OF THOSE WEAK GOLEMS THERE ARE," one of the intruders spoke. Its voice was a grating, mechanical rasp, like metal grinding against metal. "AND HUMAN GUARDS ARE POWERLESS AGAINST US."
"Did you actually walk through the city in broad daylight?" Stearena asked in disbelief.
"No, they must have used the back waterway," Reinhard said, recalling the house's location. The channel behind the property connected directly to the Azul River. They had likely slipped into Dali disguised as ordinary cargo.
"Schwarzritter!" Reinhard commanded.
"Castor!" Stearena called.
"RESISTANCE IS FUTILE," the lead golem stated. One enemy unit moved to engage the Schwarzritter, another went for Castor, and the remaining two closed in on Reinhard and Stearena.
"Dammit! Barrier!"
Reinhard activated the Protect Ring he had received from Jin. The golem lunging for him was halted abruptly by an invisible wall thirty centimeters from his body.
Meanwhile, the Schwarzritter and Castor collided with their opponents. The Schwarzritter threw a punch that sent its mechanical adversary reeling back.
"HOH. YOU HAVE GROWN STRONGER."
The spokesman golem’s observation confirmed Reinhard’s fears: Unifilar had been gathering intelligence on them.
"Schwarzritter! All out! Destroy them!"
"Jawohl!"
The Schwarzritter unleashed its full power. A single blow was enough to take the head clean off one enemy golem. Without pausing, it moved to engage the second.
As the autonomous types clashed, the house began to tear apart. Walls crumbled and pillars snapped under the force of the battle. There was no time to worry about the property damage.
"Kyaaaah!"
Stearena’s scream pierced the air. Reinhard spun around to see that Castor had been dismantled, and Stearena was firmly in the grasp of an enemy golem.
"Stearena!" Reinhard grit his teeth. He should have pulled her closer, inside the radius of his barrier.
"ONE SECURED," the lead golem announced. "REINHARD-DONO, WILL YOU NOT SURRENDER?"
Reinhard remained silent.
"HMM. IT SEEMS YOUR WILL REMAINS STEADFAST AS LONG AS THE SCHWARZRITTER STANDS."
The Schwarzritter had just finished disabling the second enemy golem. Only the golem holding Stearena and the one in front of Reinhard remained.
"VERY WELL. THEN WE SHALL DEMONSTRATE OUR TRUE CAPABILITIES."
The lead golem ignored Reinhard and charged the Schwarzritter.
To Reinhard, this seemed like a golden opportunity. He couldn't resist while Stearena was being held hostage, but the enemy leader seemed arrogant enough to want a direct duel. Reinhard had spent considerable time reinforcing the Schwarzritter. While it might not stand a chance against Jin's Reiko, he refused to believe it would lose to a Unifilar golem.
"Schwarzritter, go!"
"Jawohl!"
The Schwarzritter grappled with the silver golem. For a moment, their strengths were perfectly matched, and they stood locked in a stalemate.
"I SEE. SO THIS IS THE EXTENT OF THE SCHWARZRITTER’S POWER."
The two machines strained against each other, neither gaining an inch.
"THAT IS ENOUGH. I SHALL USE MY FULL OUTPUT NOW."
The enemy golem’s strength surged. The Schwarzritter was suddenly overwhelmed and thrown back, smashing through a wall and coming to a halt only after colliding with a support pillar.
The enemy golem didn't let up. With terrifying speed, it seized the Schwarzritter’s right arm and tore it from the shoulder. An instant later, the left arm followed.
"Wha—?!"
Reinhard stared, unable to process the sight. It was a nightmare made real; the enemy golem kicked the Schwarzritter to the ground and methodically ripped away both its legs.
It was an impossible level of strength. It was just like...
"Reiko-chan’s power?" the words escaped Reinhard’s lips in a daze.
"REIKO? IS THAT THE NAME OF THE STRONGEST GOLEM?"
Leaving the butchered remains of the Schwarzritter behind, the lead golem closed the distance to Reinhard.
"Ugh..." Reinhard clamped his mouth shut, realizing he had almost leaked sensitive information.
"NO MATTER. WE SHALL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO DISCUSS IT LATER."
The golem loomed over him, gesturing to the captive Stearena. "DEACTIVATE THE BARRIER."
"Reinhard-sama! You mustn't!" Stearena cried out bravely, but the golem twisted her arm behind her back, forcing a scream of agony from her.
Reinhard could not bear to watch her suffer.
He deactivated the barrier. The golem, seemingly aware that the magic originated from the ring, twisted Reinhard’s arm as well and snatched the Protect Ring from his finger.
Immediately after, metal chokers were snapped around both their necks. They were the same devices Elsa had once been forced to wear—magic tools designed to disrupt incantations and induce physical weakness.
"PEOPLE WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY."
The commotion had been loud enough to draw onlookers and city guards. The golems dragged the two prisoners through the hole in the wall.
Just below lay the waterway, where a black vessel was waiting.
"GET IN."
And so, in broad daylight, Reinhard and Stearena were abducted.
There were many witnesses, but none could do anything but watch as the black ship sailed down the channel toward the Azul River.
It was half a day later when Sage and Cosmos, members of Reinhard’s personal Secret Mobile Unit, finally arrived.
All they found was the mangled carcass of the Schwarzritter and the bodies of five guards, now covered with white cloths.