"Kyaah! What do you think you're doing?!"
"You bastards! What are you planning to do with Lady All-Creation?!"
"Noo! Lucas, help!"
"Lady Sion! Damn it, let go!"
Six golems had swarmed into the room, each standing nearly two meters tall. Although their movements were sluggish, they had taken advantage of the surprise to seize All-Creation and Sion while they were still seated.
Netros and Lucas, as expected of guards, were quick to dodge, but they were helpless with their mistresses already captured.
Meanwhile, two of the golems lunged at Jin—or rather, his Body Double.
"What do you think you are doing?" Reiko demanded.
"I will not permit such absurdity," Anne added, her voice cold.
The two automatons moved in unison to intercept the threat. The golem Anne shook off was embedded deep into the wall, while the one Reiko sent flying shattered into pieces.
"What on earth is happening?"
The sudden turn of events was too much for even Jin to keep up with.
"If it's come to this, we have no choice. Reiko, Magi-Jammer!"
"Yes, Father."
The Magi-Jammer built into Reiko’s frame activated. Instantly, the golems holding All-Creation and Sion stood still.
However, at the same moment, the two sisters—as well as Netros, Lucas, and even the three members of the Gospel clan—began to groan in agony. It was the onset of ether deficiency.
"This is bad... Reiko, Anne, hurry and neutralize the remaining golems."
Upon receiving this order, the girls reduced the remaining four golems to scrap on the floor within seconds. Jin then immediately ordered Reiko to deactivate the Magi-Jammer.
"...Phew."
All-Creation and the others let out a collective sigh of relief.
For a demon, it was as if they had been suddenly transported to the summit of Mount Everest. With ether levels dropping to less than a third of normal, breathing became an agonizing struggle.
It appeared that a similar phenomenon occurred with free ether as it did with oxygen. In the case of humans, their dependency on free ether was low, so the impact on their physical condition was likely negligible.
Fabius had collapsed and appeared to be unconscious.
"D-Damn it..."
"Ugh..."
Alectas and Mironia seemed to still be conscious. Jin had a sudden thought and gave an instruction to Anne.
"Anne, restrain Alectas."
"Yes, Master."
Anne grabbed Alectas and twisted his arms behind his back.
"Reiko, use Paralyze."
"Yes, Father."
Reiko paralyzed the man Anne was holding down. Jin intended to take him as a hostage.
"Paralyze Mironia as well," Jin ordered, thinking it would be best to prevent her from causing an uproar. For safety's sake, he had Fabius paralyzed as well.
"Alright, let's get out of here for now."
Moving the broken door aside and stepping into the corridor, they were met by four more members of the Gospel clan who glared at them.
Their faces were pale and devoid of life. Jin felt a slight sense of unease at their appearance, but he refocused on their escape.
"Move. Do you care what happens to Alectas?"
However, the four seemed unwilling to listen and lunged at them all at once.
"Paralyze."
"Gah!"
"Gyaa!"
With the Paralyze magic Reiko unleashed in an instant, the four were neutralized immediately.
"They said the Gospel clan had about ten members. That means there are two or three more left. Don't let your guard down."
Just as Jin said that, two young men jumped out from the shadows of the corridor, brandishing clubs.
"Paralyze."
"Guh!"
"Gyau!"
But before Reiko's reaction speed, they might as well have been standing still. They were easily paralyzed.
The group proceeded down the corridor in a defensive line: Netros, All-Creation, Sion, and Lucas in the middle, with Jin, Anne—who was carrying Alectas—and Reiko bringing up the rear.
Soon, the familiar exit came into view.
"We're at the exit."
The sky outside was cloudy and dim.
"...It's cold."
All-Creation and Sion both shivered.
The interior of the Gospel clan's residence had been heated to about fifteen degrees Celsius, but the temperature outside was below five degrees. Since they were in indoor clothing, they felt the chill keenly. They hadn't had time to grab their coats.
"We'll have a change of clothes once we get back to the Capricorn 1."
Jin encouraged the two of them and then instructed Reiko to contact Land 1.
"Father, he says he is coming immediately."
Jin had been slightly worried that something might have happened during the night, but Land 1 did not sleep, and the Capricorn 1 was protected by a barrier. Furthermore, with aerial forces maintaining a surveillance net overhead, it was unlikely that things would have gone that far south.
In less than a minute, the Capricorn 1 arrived, and the party let out sighs of relief as they climbed aboard.
"Land 1, get us away from here as fast as possible."
For the time being, Jin decided to put some distance between them and the Gospel clan's home.
After traveling at twenty kilometers per hour for thirty minutes, they came to a halt about ten kilometers away. They tied Alectas to an auxiliary seat, and Jin had Reiko stand ready to cast Paralyze at any moment while Anne prepared the Magi-Jammer.
With those precautions in place, Jin cast Healing on Alectas to wake him up.
"Ugh..."
Alectas opened his eyes, appearing disoriented as to where he was or why he was there.
"You're awake. Why did the Gospel clan attack us? You were friendly until this morning."
Alectas met Jin's question with stony silence.
"I'm also curious about why your attitude changed so suddenly. I suspect there's a reason."
"..."
Even then, Alectas remained silent.
"I wonder about the possibility of Master-Slave Magic?"
"Father, since we used Paralyze, that possibility is low," Reiko analyzed. "Although the effect is milder than Shock, it should break most forms of brainwashing."
"Please wait a moment. You use Shock to cancel Master-Slave Magic?" All-Creation joined the conversation, looking surprised. "In our case, we have cancellation magic..."
"Is that so? And can you use it?"
"I can."
"Then try it."
However, All-Creation shook her head after a moment of observation.
"No, Mr. Alectas is not under the influence of Master-Slave Magic."
"I thought as much..."
It was just like with the All-Creation clan. Either it was a different type of Master-Slave Magic, or...
"I wish there was a spell that could cancel any kind of magic..." Jin muttered.
The sentiment was shared by both the Body Double inside the Capricorn 1 and the real Jin back on Hourai Island.
"If it isn't magic... could it be a magic tool?" Anne suggested. "Assuming he is being controlled, if it isn't through a spell, then it must be some kind of magic tool, right?"
Logically speaking, that made sense. Jin nodded.
"If it's a magic tool... Reiko, use Trace."
"Yes, Father. Trace."
Reiko examined the flow of mana within the bound Alectas. She continued for dozens of seconds before her expression sharpened.
"There are abnormal concentrations of mana in Mr. Alectas's chest and behind his ears."
The moment those words were spoken, Alectas began to thrash about. He struggled so violently he seemed ready to break the seat he was tied to. The rope rubbed against his skin, causing blood to ooze out.
"This is bad! Reiko!"
"Yes!"
Quickly, Reiko cast Paralyze on Alectas once more. Only then did the man stop his violent thrashing.
"...What on earth happened?" Jin tilted his head in confusion. The others also fell into deep thought, wondering what had just occurred.
It was Anne who finally broke the silence.
"Master, please deploy a magic barrier immediately."
"Understood. Land 1!"
"Roger."
A magic barrier was deployed around the Capricorn 1. It was a barrier that could block all mid-level magic and even withstand advanced-level spells.
"Thank you. Since time is of the essence, I asked you to deploy the magic barrier first," Anne explained. "The reason is that there was a possibility our conversation here was being eavesdropped upon via a magic tool."