"J-Jin... what are you planning to do?" Saki asked in a trembling voice, her face pale.
"There’s nothing else for it; we’ll have to crush them physically."
"Physically? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Saki-nee, what Jin-nii means is that he's going to handle them with brute force," Elsa explained, though Saki looked even more bewildered after hearing it.
"Reiko, stop the lead one!"
"I understand, Father."
Normally, the tactical choice would be to suppress the one at the very rear, but Jin decided to prioritize the individual that was already rampaging after being scorched by the laser.
Titan’s top speed was 150 kilometers per hour—nearly eight times faster than a Gigant Peeder. It overtook the five creatures in an instant, circled around, and intercepted the wounded, thrashing beast.
However, the fifty-meter-long Gigant Peeder was stronger than expected. It immediately tried to coil its massive body around Titan to pin the golem down.
The other four creatures ignored the struggle, continuing their march toward Toka Village. Jin was honestly relieved they weren't all attacking at once.
"Take this!"
Titan’s fist exploded against the Gigant Peeder’s head. To Jin’s surprise, even a strike delivered with the equivalent of 200 percent of Reiko’s standard output failed to crush the monster's skull.
It only managed to daze the creature momentarily. Taking advantage of the opening, Titan rained down a second and third punch. Finally, the Gigant Peeder’s movements slowed visibly.
"Good! Reiko, get clear!"
Jin aligned the sights of the magi-cannon.
"Fire!"
He adjusted the output for the short range of a few hundred meters. The adamantite projectile, launched at Mach 3, pierced through the Gigant Peeder’s torso with unerring precision.
A yellow fluid immediately sprayed from the wound.
Smoke billowed from the rocks where the liquid landed. It appeared to be highly corrosive—possibly a strong acid. At the very least, it seemed to be the same substance the creature spat from its maw.
"Reiko! Watch out!"
Depending on the acid's composition, even light silver—titanium—might not come through it unscathed. Reiko immediately deployed a physical-type barrier.
The Gigant Peeder, nearly torn in half by the impact, began to thrash even more violently. It sprayed liquid from its mouth; Titan narrowly dodged, but the rocks hit by the spray began to melt, sending up clouds of white smoke. It was indeed the same corrosive substance as its blood.
Jin had received reports about it, but seeing its potency in person was another matter entirely.
"Is the thing synthesizing a super-acid inside its body?"
Perhaps it was something even more volatile than acid—a liquid designed specifically to dissolve matter.
At any rate, Jin grew more cautious, realizing he couldn't carelessly let Titan, Reiko, or the other golems come into physical contact with the creatures.
The remaining four Gigant Peeders picked up their pace slightly, heading toward Toka Village at about 30 kilometers per hour.
"So I really have to destroy the head completely..." Jin mused as he watched the nearly severed centipede, which refused to die and continued to spread destruction in its wake. "It won't stop unless I slice it into segments. A Water Jet would work, but... wait, I've got it!"
Jin remembered the magic swords he had created previously: Muramasa and Masamune.
"Heat-type should be effective here. Laojun, send Masamune to my location."
Those magic swords had been gathering dust in the warehouse ever since he'd made them. The sword was delivered instantly via Warp Gate.
"Alright, let's modify this part here..."
Jin immediately set to work. Four eyes watched him with intense anxiety.
"J-Jin, I don't know what you're doing, but is it really okay to be so relaxed right now?" Saki asked.
"Jin-nii..." Elsa whispered, her eyes wide with dread as she watched the Gigant Peeders that even Jin seemed to be struggling to contain.
"...Alright, it's done."
Holding the modified magic sword, Jin opened the ceiling hatch of Pegasus 1 and activated the weapon toward the sky.
A pale blue light with a purple tint extended outward, forming a blade of light nearly ten meters long. Jin deactivated it immediately. It was a makeshift weapon created by intentionally overloading the magi-circuits.
"Good, it worked."
"J-Jin! W-What is that?"
"It's a Plasma Sword I modified in a hurry."
"A plasma sword?"
When high-temperature gas is heated further, the gas molecules separate into positive ions and electrons. This state is called plasma. Jin had created a state known as thermal plasma and confined it within a sword-shaped barrier. Its temperature was approximately one billion degrees—hot enough to trigger nuclear fusion.
"It probably won't last long... I'll have to rely on Reiko after all."
Jin called Reiko via manacam. Having backed Titan away, Reiko climbed out of the cockpit and waved to Jin. He tossed the Plasma Sword from the air, and Reiko caught it effortlessly.
"Father, you want me to use this, don't you?" Reiko's voice echoed through the manacam.
"Yeah. The magi-circuits will probably burn out quickly. It's a race against the clock. I'm counting on you!"
"Leave it to me."
Terminating the connection, Reiko released 100 percent of her output.
"...The laser cannons are ineffective, and the magi-cannon is much the same."
In the command room on Hourai Island, Laojun was explaining the situation while analyzing the battle projected on the magi-screen.
"What is Jin planning?" Reinhard’s face was tight with worry. If even weapons of that magnitude couldn't achieve significant results, what other options were there?
"There is no need for concern. Although it will be a trial by fire, two methods still remain," Laojun said, reassuring the others.
Just then, a request came in from Jin. Laojun responded instantly, ordering his mobile terminal, Laozi, to transfer the magic sword Masamune to Pegasus 1.
"Laojun, what was that just now?"
"It is a magic sword My Lord created previously," Laojun explained briefly. Hearing this, Reinhard felt an even deeper sense of respect for Jin. "Presumably, My Lord intends to... rather than explaining, please see for yourself."
On the magi-screen, Reiko appeared, wielding a massive sword of light. Or rather, to Reinhard and the others, it only looked like a shadow moving at speeds far too fast for the eye to follow, methodically slicing the Gigant Peeders into sections.
First, the one that had been nearly torn in half was divided into seven pieces in the blink of an eye. No blood or fluid sprayed from the cuts. This was exactly why Jin hadn't used a Water Jet—he wanted to prevent the corrosive fluids from damaging the environment or, more importantly, Reiko.
Another beast was sliced into eight pieces, then another into nine, their segments tumbling to the ground. Then, at the very moment the fourth one was cleaved in half—
The brilliance of the blinding sword of light vanished.
"Tch, has it reached its limit?!"
It had lasted roughly five seconds. The magic sword Masamune, pushed far past its operational limits, had its magi-circuits burn out and fell silent.
Three had been completely neutralized, but one was only partially cut, and the last remained unscathed. The unscathed one continued its march toward Toka Village. The body of the one that had been cut in half was still thrashing, the fluid from its mouth melting through wood and stone alike.
Since the nature of the liquid was unknown, it was dangerous even for Reiko to approach, and Jin would not permit it.
"In that case, Laojun, send the other magic sword, Muramasa, as well."
"Yes, immediately."
The lightning-type magic sword Muramasa arrived in an instant. Jin set to work on the modifications again, finishing in less than a minute.
"Reiko, one more time!"
"Yes, Father!"
Reiko caught the magic sword as it was thrown to her. Once again, it ignited with light.
"Jin, that's...? It's different from before!"
"Yeah, this one is a lightning-type magic sword, so the effect is a bit different."
The sword of light illuminated the twilight ground, crackling with purple electricity. The plasma, excited to mega-electron volts, surged through the sword-shaped barrier.
With a god-speed swing, the sword flashed through the air. This time, the Gigant Peeders were truly wiped out.
"W-We did it..."
Reinhard and the others, who had been staring at the magi-screen, breathed a long sigh of relief.
"T-That was incredible..."
"Yeah, that's Jin and Reiko-chan for you."
"...I don't even know what to say. It's just so beyond the norm. I suppose that's just Jin-kun."
"Now all that remains is the cleanup," Laojun added, a hint of relief coloring his mechanical voice.
A similar air of relief drifted through Pegasus 1. But in the midst of it—
"Hm?" Saki, who was looking out the window, let out a sharp, suspicious sound. "Jin! Look at that!"
"What?"
Saki pointed toward the Inado Mine. From the collapsing tunnel, countless more Gigant Peeders were crawling out into the darkness.