It had been about fifteen minutes since Land units 61 through 80 had breached what appeared to be the main entrance, which had been left wide open.
Reiko, Anne, and Jin's body double, Maquina—the "Deus Ex Machina"—had followed them inside.
"There is no mistake. These are the ruins of an ancient fortress," Anne said, confirming the structure of the facility.
The area just beyond the entrance opened into a wide hall, likely a staging area for soldiers who had arrived via warp.
Just like the ruins in Yada Village, the remnants of a Warp Gate were visible on the floor at the far end. However, only fragments remained; there was no hope of restoring it.
The device had likely been destroyed when the fortress was abandoned.
A corridor stretched straight ahead from the hall. In the alcoves where guards would have once been stationed, golems now stood—or rather, lay in pieces, having been neutralized by the Land squad.
"There should be a staircase a short distance ahead."
The three of them advanced, following Anne's lead.
True to her words, twenty meters in, they found a staircase leading to the upper and lower floors.
"The basement is an armory; the upper floors lead to the command room. How shall we proceed?"
Anne turned to seek Reiko’s judgment just as the sound of footsteps echoed from below.
"!"
Reiko tensed for a moment, but upon sensing the magic pattern, she recognized it as the Land squad and released her grip on the hilt of her sword.
Land 70 and 71 emerged from the stairwell.
"Greetings, Young Lady. The basement appears to be an armory, but it is filled with nothing but broken golems and useless magic tools. Land units 41 through 60 have joined up with us and are continuing the search."
Hearing the report, Reiko decided to head upward.
"Let us go up."
She took Land 70 and 71 with them to the next floor.
"Oh, we have company."
The door leading to the second-floor corridor was wide open. Land units 91 through 100, who had entered from the west side, were already there.
"Young Lady, we found only utility golems here. We have neutralized them all," Land 100 reported to Reiko.
"The room corresponding to the command center should be on the fourth floor. Let us go," Anne urged. Reiko nodded and gave instructions to Land 100 and the others.
"Continue your investigation of this floor."
Reiko and her group then moved to the third floor.
The door to the third floor was also open, and Land units 81 through 90 were already busy searching the area.
Leaving that floor to the Land squad as well, Reiko’s group continued to the fourth floor.
The stairs ended there, and a sturdy-looking door blocked their path.
"Young Lady, allow us to go first."
Land 70 spoke as he and Land 71 pushed against the door. It didn't budge.
"It feels as though it has been barred from the inside. What are your orders?"
There were several ways to force it open. He was asking which one to use.
At that moment, Jin made contact, speaking through the body double.
"Land 61 just found some Unifilar members. There were seventeen in total, and all have been neutralized. Based on their interrogation, the command room is indeed on the fourth floor."
"The floor we are currently on, then."
"Correct. The Golden Destruction Princess is likely there as well. Be on your guard."
"Understood. What shall we do about this door? Shall we force it?"
"Yes. Cut it down with a vibration sword."
Jin issued the instruction through the mouth of Maquina.
"Yes, Father."
Reiko replied and reached for her blade, but Land 70, who was already at the door, had already sliced through the wood with his own vibration sword.
Reiko felt a momentary flash of disappointment. Maquina spoke as if to comfort her.
"Reiko, you're the star performer here. You don't need to step forward for every little thing."
He then added:
"Also, refrain from calling this doll 'Father.' That goes for everyone else here too—please address it as 'Maquina.'"
Since "Deus" meant "God," Jin had felt a bit hesitant and decided to use "Maquina"—meaning "Machine"—as the body double's designation.
"As you wish, Lord Maquina."
The group stepped through the ruined door and onto the fourth floor.
The corridor here was relatively wide and covered with carpet.
"There is no doubt. The command room is just ahead. This fortress must have been overseen by a very high-ranking commander."
Land 70 and 71 walked side by side at the front. Maquina followed behind them, with Reiko and Anne bringing up the rear in a similar side-by-side formation.
There were several doors on either side of the hall. They opened them to check the rooms as they passed, but found nothing of note.
Finally, only the door at the very end remained.
"Opening it."
Land 70 and 71 pulled the door open, as this one was equipped with handles.
The door opened slowly; it seemed it hadn't been barred.
"Please be careful."
Just as Anne spoke, several gold and silver shadows wielding spears lunged through the gap in the door. They were golems.
"I expected as much!"
Reiko, who had remained on high alert, instantly drew her vibration sword and cut down two of the attacking golems in a single breath.
Even without specialized sword techniques, few golems could hope to keep up with Reiko’s raw physical capabilities.
Meanwhile, Land 70 and 71 each struck down an enemy golem as well.
Two gold and two silver—four enemy golems in total lay on the floor.
"Is that all of them?" Anne asked while shielding Maquina. Maquina was the weakest member of the party, followed by Anne.
"Probably so," Land 70 and 71 replied as they reached for the door again.
This time, nothing jumped out at them, and the door was thrown wide.
"So, you have made it this far."
At the far end of the room sat a middle-aged man. Gold and silver golems—identical to the ones they had just defeated—stood to his left and right.
There was one more golem, about two meters tall, standing in their way, positioned so as not to obstruct the man’s view.
"I am the Chairman of the Unifilar, Donald. You shall face my masterpiece, Golem 457. Destroy them!"
At his command, Golem 457 kicked off the floor and lunged at Anne.
Donald, the current Chairman, had witnessed Reiko’s abnormal power through his magi-screen, so he had targeted Anne, who appeared to be the easiest prey.
It was true that Anne was not built for combat.
"Barrier."
However, she was fast enough to activate the Protect Ring Jin had given her.
The Protect Ring was powerful enough to have once blocked a strike from Reiko at thirty percent of her output.
Golem 457’s fist stopped dead ten centimeters away from Anne’s face.
"W-What!?"
As 457 stalled for a fraction of a second, Land 70’s vibration sword swept through its torso.
Even steel that had been subjected to extreme Hardening offered no resistance against the vibration sword.
Split into upper and lower halves, Golem 457 collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud.
"N-No... my... my masterpiece..."
Donald turned pale. Maquina—Jin—spoke to him.
"Calling that a masterpiece is pathetic. The masterpiece is always the 'Next One.'"
Reiko nodded silently in agreement.
"Guh... How dare you! Ancient technology cannot be defeated so easily! That's right! I won't lose! I won't looooose!"
Donald seemed unable to accept the reality before him; he was bordering on a total Frenzy.
"Anne, use the Paralyzer."
Unable to watch any longer, Maquina—Jin—gave the order. Anne immediately deactivated her barrier and fired the Paralyzer at Donald.
"Gyah!"
She then switched the mode to Shock and fired again.
With Shock magic, some targets did not lose consciousness immediately, perhaps due to the wavelength or the waveform. For opponents who appeared to be under mental manipulation, it was necessary to hit them twice.
The moment Donald lost consciousness, the gold and silver golems standing by his side attacked, only to be instantly cut down by Land 70 and 71.
"Now then, I expected the Golden Destruction Princess to be here, but she is nowhere to be found," Reiko said, scanning the room.
"Oh? Onee-sama, someone is lying over there."
Anne, who had also been surveying the room, found a person collapsed behind a tapestry hanging on the wall.
"Who is it?"
Anne, Reiko, and Maquina went to investigate while Land 70 and 71 kept watch on the surroundings.
The person lying there was an old man. Anne examined his injuries.
"His sternum is broken, but he appears to be still alive," she diagnosed.
Thinking he might possess useful information, Maquina—Jin—decided to use the recovery medicine he had brought.
After applying the medicine to the wound on the old man's chest, his breathing grew slightly easier. Jin then had him drink the rest.
The old man managed to swallow the recovery medicine. His breathing became regular, and the color returned to his face.
Then, the old man opened his eyes.