The siblings spent a good while rejoicing in their reunion.
"Jin-dono, thanks to you, I’ve been reunited with my sister."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"……Who are you?"
While Belialus offered his gratitude, Arshel remained wary of the unfamiliar man.
"This is Jin Nidou-dono. He is a Magi Craft Meister and a benefactor to the demon race."
Belialus gave a brief explanation of who Jin was and what he had done for their people.
"I-Is that so?……I was surprised enough just to hear that humans and our people share the same ancestors."
"I see……"
Arshel had clearly suffered and matured significantly during her time away, Belialus thought as he gazed at his sister with deep emotion.
"Arshel, let's go home."
"……Okay, Brother."
Just then, the floor shuddered beneath them.
"W-What was that!?"
"The collapse has begun!"
It had been roughly fifteen minutes since No. 600012 had given the warning. It seemed their grace period was over.
"Quickly, we have to escape!"
The Jin Double grabbed Belialus, while Reiko took hold of Arshel. With everyone secured, they activated the transporter.
"……Where are we?"
The four of them emerged inside Shinkai. They had intentionally avoided going directly to Hourai Island.
"It’s an intermediate base of sorts," Jin explained.
From there, they used the transporter once more to transfer to Hourai Island. Without giving Belialus and Arshel time to process their surroundings, Laojun immediately used the transporter to send the group to the summit of Mt. Elrad.
Information from the surveillance satellite Watcher indicated that the structural failure was confined to the underground facility and had not affected the integrity of the mountain itself.
Meanwhile, just as the Jin Double’s party was transferring out, Land 90 through 99 were dispatched into the facility equipped with transporters. They rescued the eight injured human soldiers and brought them to Shinkai for protection.
Additionally, since there were two Land units with "free hands," so to speak, they also secured the two inactive No. 600012 golems and transported them back to Shinkai as well.
With that, their primary objectives were achieved.
＊ ＊ ＊
"This is……"
The four stood atop the summit of Mt. Elrad under a canopy of twinkling stars. Both Arshel and Belialus were left dazed, unable to keep pace with the rapid series of events.
However, the concept of teleportation was familiar enough to them that they eventually managed to accept the reality of it. They had regained their composure by the time Konron 2 began its descent.
"Jin-dono, I cannot thank you enough for helping me find Arshel. Words are not sufficient."
"It's Jin-san, right? Thank you, truly," Arshel added.
Both siblings bowed deeply to Jin. Just then, Konron 2 descended toward the summit, its path illuminated by the glow of magi-lamps.
"W-What is that!?"
"That is Konron 2. It's an airship I built."
"Al, it’s a ship that flies through the sky."
"No way! Is that really possible?"
"It is. It’s too dark to see much now, but you’ll get a better look at it tomorrow morning."
The Jin Double and Belialus offered brief explanations to the skeptical Arshel. Before long, Konron 2 touched down.
"Come, let’s get inside. I’m sure you don’t want to spend the night in this cold."
The temperature at the summit had plummeted below freezing, but the cabin interior was climate-controlled and maintained at a comfortable warmth.
"Wow, it’s so warm."
Arshel let out a sigh of relief. The Jin Double and Reiko set about preparing light snacks. It was simple bread and soup, but it was a massive hit with Arshel.
"Oh! Real food!"
Seeing her reaction, Jin asked what she had been eating while she was with No. 600012.
"Um, it was this mushy, tasteless stuff. Like a thick porridge."
Jin suspected it was some form of synthetic nutrient. It was a shame that such production facilities were likely now buried under tons of rubble.
"Phew, that was wonderful."
Having eaten her fill, Arshel patted her stomach with a look of pure satisfaction. Jin decided it was finally time for a proper conversation and had the Jin Double brew some tea.
"Arshel, who were those eight people in the basement of that facility?"
Jin had been curious how eight humans had ended up in an underground facility that even he had struggled to locate.
"Um…… they just suddenly appeared at the Gigantoavrum farm I was looking after. The creatures were attacking them."
"What?"
Jin felt a sense of deja vu. He immediately recalled the incident in the Celuroa Kingdom.
"The Dali Warp Gate!"
Eight soldiers had been sent to investigate a mysterious facility, followed by specialized golems. The footage those golems had sent back showed a massive swarm of Gigantoavrums. It was then that Jin had realized the Warp Gate was connected to this general area.
"I see. So they managed to survive."
King Cesar would be relieved, Jin thought. However, because of the Gigantoavrum attack, the soldiers had sustained significant injuries—though fortunately none seemed to have lost limbs. Jin decided it would be best to have Elsa treat them before returning them to the Celuroa Kingdom.
"Were the Gigantoavrums being raised to harvest mental catalysts?"
"Y-Yeah. They definitely said something like that."
It seemed that keeping Arshel there served two purposes: one as a biological template for the homunculus experiments, and the other to assist in obtaining mental catalysts. Jin felt it was a slight waste that they hadn't been able to retrieve those catalysts before the collapse.
Jin still had many questions, but since the hour was late, he decided to give the siblings some privacy.
"You two can rest in this area."
The seats could be reclined until they were fully flat.
"Jin-dono, thank you."
"Jin-san, thanks."
The Jin Double and Reiko moved to the cockpit and closed the partition door. Once they were alone, Belialus turned to his sister.
"Arshel, how did you end up there in the first place?"
It was a natural question. Jin had wanted to know the details as well, but he had held back, sensing it might be a private matter. Arshel looked down and began to speak in a quiet, halting voice.
"……Well, you see. I left home and just kept walking south. I walked and walked, and the next thing I knew, I was at the top of that mountain……"
＊ ＊ ＊
『In all likelihood, the facility was programmed to self-destruct once the recipient of the Send Info had evacuated.』
"That would make sense."
Jin and Laojun were reviewing the night's events.
『If they had been caught in the collapse right then, the knowledge would have died with them. It is only because it was My Lord’s Double that an immediate escape was possible.』
"Exactly.……And you said the Land squad retrieved the golems?"
『Yes. Ten Land units were sent for eight survivors. Since two units were unoccupied, they secured the disabled golems.』
"Good work. Those golems are likely a completely different design lineage from the Predecessor’s. I think studying them will yield very interesting results."
Having seen No. 600012, Jin was fascinated by the structural differences.
"The one thing I still don’t quite get is why the Warp Gate in Dali was linked to that facility."
『Indeed. It is a shame that we can no longer examine the facility's systems to find out.』
"I suppose it’s possible the Dali Warp Gate simply happened to share a matching frequency."
『That seems the most plausible explanation.』
There was more to discuss, but the time difference between Hourai Island and Mt. Elrad was roughly two hours and fifteen minutes. On the island, it was already well past midnight. Jin entrusted the continued operation of the Jin Double to Laojun and finally went to sleep.