As All-Creation remained lost in thought, the Stone Golems—the Rock Giants—closed the distance to the Capricorn 1. They were roughly five hundred meters away.
"They're definitely going to attack!"
Sion cried out. When Jin asked how she could be sure, she pointed toward the giants.
"See how the single eyes on their heads are glowing red? That’s a telltale sign that they’ve entered attack mode."
Indeed, the crimson eyes on the Rock Giants' heads were glowing brightly, staring intently at the Capricorn 1.
"Netros, please! Tell them we have no hostile intent!"
"On it!"
Netros opened the skylight and stood on the roof of the Capricorn 1.
He waved his arms, signaling their presence to the Toying Clan who were presumably watching from somewhere nearby, but the Rock Giants did not slow down.
"It’s no use, Lady All-Creation!"
Netros shook his head as he ducked back inside.
"Let’s run! We’re faster, so we’ll be fine!"
Sion shouted, her voice laced with panic. She seemed quite shaken by the encounter.
"Would it be a problem if I destroyed them?"
Jin asked the question in all seriousness. Turning back now with the Pazdext Great Isthmus right in front of them would be a complete waste of time.
"Eh?"
"Jin-sama, are you saying you can actually defeat those Rock Giants? All ten of them?"
Sion looked dumbfounded, while All-Creation’s voice was thick with disbelief.
"Yeah, probably."
"..."
"...Anything those red eyes lock onto will be pursued relentlessly until it’s destroyed..."
"...Then we have no choice but to break them."
All-Creation and Sion spoke with lingering doubt.
"Understood. I’ll take that as your consent....Land 1, you are authorized to engage."
"Roger."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hmm, the Toying Clan. First Arshel the Puppet, and now this. It seems each clan has its own specialty."
Watching the situation unfold from Hourai Island, Jin muttered to himself. He sent a mental command to Land 1.
"Land 1, you are authorized to engage."
"Roger."
＊ ＊ ＊
Simultaneous with the brief acknowledgment, Land 1 fired the magi-cannon. He set the output to 30%.
The moment the booming report of the discharge echoed, the head of the nearest Rock Giant was pulverized into dust.
"Huh?"
"Wh-What was that?"
Neither Sion nor All-Creation could believe what they had just seen. Lucas and Netros were equally stunned; their faces twitched as they pressed against the windows, staring out at the carnage.
"Even 30% is overkill. I will drop it to 10%."
Land 1 then fired three consecutive shots. The golem’s auto-targeting was unerring; three more giants fell silent as their heads were shattered.
"Next, I will test the mana bomb."
Jin had developed the mana bombs, but he had lacked a suitable target to test them on.
While based on the same principle as the magi-cannon, the projectile was launched at a much slower speed—roughly thirty meters per second. When it struck a Rock Giant, it detonated with a thunderous roar.
"Kyaa!"
"Wh-What happened?"
Before the eyes of All-Creation and Sion, a Rock Giant was not just broken but completely obliterated, leaving a crater in the ground where it had stood.
"Laser Cannon, fire."
Next, the heads of two giants evaporated instantly. It was an ultra-high-output laser.
Only three Rock Giants remained.
Reiko, who had been silently observing the exterior until now, finally spoke.
"I would like to show Father the results of the Reinforce he performed on me."
Reiko opened the skylight of the Capricorn 1 and leaped out.
"Elder Sister... she’s as bold as ever."
Watching her go, Anne wore a smile that held a hint of a wry chuckle.
"Wait! Reiko-san!?"
"That’s reckless! Even if she beat Lucas, a Rock Giant is—eh?"
The ten-meter-tall Rock Giants had relatively small heads, less than a meter in diameter.
Aiming for the head—specifically, the glowing red eye—Reiko vaulted through the air and swung Touka.
With a single stroke, the eye was sliced open, and the Rock Giant ceased all movement.
"As I thought, the eye is closely linked to the control core."
Reiko was neutralizing the Rock Giants carefully, intending to preserve them as research materials for Jin on Hourai Island.
She believed that if she kept the damage to a minimum, they would serve as a useful reference for him.
After disabling the second giant in the same manner, Reiko sheathed Touka.
These two would eventually be recovered and brought back to Hourai Island to serve as subjects for Jin’s research.
"For the last one, I shall use it as a testbed to show Father the state of my final finish!"
Reiko sprinted across the terrain. A ten-meter Rock Giant versus the 130-centimeter Reiko. However, the power hidden within her small frame was on a completely different scale.
The Rock Giant raised its massive leg, intending to crush the approaching girl.
Seizing the moment it stood on one foot, Reiko delivered a kick to its supporting leg.
Her leg, barely ten centimeters wide, struck a limb nearly two meters thick.
"Fragile."
Reiko’s kick shattered the Rock Giant’s ankle as easily as if it were made of dry crackers.
Deprived of its support, the giant fell backward, hitting the earth with a tremor that shook the ground.
"A-Amazing..."
The word escaped Netros’s mouth in a gasp of admiration.
Now that the giant was horizontal, Reiko’s direct attacks could reach any part of it.
"Let’s see."
She swung her hand in a sharp chop.
The Rock Giant’s right arm was severed clean from the shoulder.
She thrust out a punch.
The Rock Giant’s left hand was pulverized into gravel.
"...The output balance is excellent. As expected of Father!"
Since they had moved north, the free ether concentration had increased by about 70%. Reiko was using this opportunity to confirm the operational status of her ether converter.
Previously, when she had teleported to a northern region while searching for Jin, she had achieved triple her normal output. However, that had been for a very short duration, and she hadn't been able to monitor the load on the ether converter in detail.
"Father, the ether converter’s stability at 170% ether concentration is perfect."
She reported directly to Jin using her internal manacam.
"Good work, Reiko. That’s very helpful data."
Jin’s reply came back immediately. Hearing it, Reiko let out a small, satisfied smile. Then...
"Thank you for being my testbed," she murmured quietly, before kicking the remaining wreckage of the Rock Giant at 50% output.
"Gack..."
Lucas let out a strangled sound.
It was only natural, for the Rock Giant that took Reiko’s strike was sent hurtling through the air. It shattered mid-flight, scattering fragments across the wasteland.
"...Lucas, it’s a miracle you’re still alive."
"...My Lady..."
Likely recalling his own duel with Reiko, Lucas was trembling uncontrollably. If she had used even a fraction of that power against him...
Not a scrap of flesh would have remained. He would have been erased from the world.
"Forget holding back... she was just playing with me..."
"?"
Sion explained the context to All-Creation and Netros, who hadn't quite followed the history between the two.
"My goodness... is that so?"
"...Lucas, you were beyond reckless."
"Uugh, I know..."
Faced with the exasperated stares of All-Creation and Netros, Lucas hung his head in absolute shame.
Reiko returned to the vehicle shortly after.
"Well done, Elder Sister."
"No, it is Father who is truly remarkable."
Reiko remained humble, giving all the credit to Jin.
"Rock Giant subjugation complete. Course clear."
Land 1 set the Capricorn 1 back in motion toward the north.
Their destination was the Pazdext Great Isthmus.
Beyond that lay the territory of the demon race.
"Here we go, then."
Jin, operating his Body Double, muttered softly.
Far to the north, leaden clouds hung low in the sky, and a bitter headwind blew against them as if to reject their approach.