The Mermaid unit had been stirring the seawater for an hour.
『The typhoon’s intensity appears to have diminished slightly.』
"Oh, so it’s working."
But his relief was short-lived.
『My Lord, at this pace, the storm will make landfall before it can be fully neutralized.』
"Hmm, I see."
They were weakening it, but clearly not fast enough.
Jin considered his options further.
"I need to get rid of the clouds..."
Clouds were formed by updrafts.
"A downdraft... a downburst... No, that’s not feasible..."
Generating a downburst with Gravity Magic would be impossible on such a massive scale, so Jin abandoned that line of thought.
"What if I cool the clouds themselves?"
Jin recalled reading about artificial rainmaking techniques involving scattering dry ice.
"Applying 『Cooling』 from the stratosphere... No, 『Freeze』 might be more effective."
"All right, Raptor squad, scramble. Ascend to the stratosphere and fire 『Freeze』 repeatedly into the typhoon."
『Understood. Raptor 1 through 300, scrambling now.』
Once again, the transporter was used to bypass the travel time to the Shouro Empire's vicinity, deploying the three hundred units instantly.
『Raptor squad, ascending to the stratosphere.』
In the atmosphere, the region where weather phenomena like typhoons occur is known as the troposphere; the calm layer above it is the stratosphere.
While volcanic eruptions can sometimes reach the stratosphere, cumulonimbus clouds—thunderheads—usually remain contained within the troposphere.
On Earth, the troposphere extends to an altitude of about seventeen kilometers near the equator, with the stratosphere sitting above it.
This means the stratosphere is cloudless, with clear blue skies year-round.
『Altitude 15 kilometers. Entering the stratosphere.』
On Ars, the stratosphere appeared to begin at roughly fifteen kilometers. The three hundred units of the Raptor squad flew through the stratosphere until they were directly above the typhoon.
『Target reached. Commencing 『Freeze』 bombardment.』
From their position in the stratosphere, the three hundred Raptors began firing continuous bursts of 『Freeze』 magic down into the heart of the storm.
"How does it look, Laojun?"
Images were being transmitted in real-time from the Watcher observation satellite, which drifted even higher above the world.
According to the data, the plan was working.
『Yes. The supercooled water vapor is condensing due to the 『Freeze』 magic, falling as rain, sleet, and hail.』
"Good."
Typhoons caused destruction through flooding as much as wind. By reducing the clouds that fueled the storm and simultaneously cooling the air, Jin’s attempt to shrink the typhoon was proving partially successful.
However, it was still not enough.
『Current estimated maximum instantaneous wind speed: 90 meters per second.』
"Mm, still too high."
"Jin-nii..."
Elsa watched with an aching heart. Seeing her homeland, the Shouro Empire, threatened by such a disaster left her visibly distressed.
Seen from the Watcher, the cloud radius was roughly thirty kilometers. While small by the standards of a natural typhoon, it was far too large for any human to handle.
After all, it was even bigger than an extra-large-class fragment.
"We have no choice but to keep chipping away at it."
Jin scrambled five hundred units from the Skylark squad as well, ordering them to join the Raptor squad in cooling the storm with 『Freeze』.
Directly beneath the typhoon, a violent deluge exceeding 300 millimeters per hour was already falling. With the arrival of the Skylark squad, that intensity increased to 500 millimeters.
Describing the deluge as a waterfall would have been an understatement; the torrential downpour hammered the ocean's surface, steadily lowering its temperature.
『Estimated maximum instantaneous wind speed: 70 meters per second.』
"Oh, the numbers are finally dropping."
There were still about eighteen hours left before the storm was projected to make landfall.
The tension finally began to leave Elsa’s face.
"Keep the pressure on."
『Yes, My Lord.』
From above, eight hundred aircraft bombarded the storm with 『Freeze』; from below, five hundred members of the Mermaid unit stirred the depths.
After five hours of this relentless assault, even the unnatural typhoon finally began to wither.
『Estimated maximum instantaneous wind speed: 30 meters per second.』
"Good. We’re on the right track."
Jin let out a long sigh. At this rate, they would manage to avert the catastrophe.
"Jin, that’s incredible!"
"Jin, you did it!"
"Jin-kun, you're amazing."
Saki, Goose, and Vivienne had remained silent until now, realizing they had nothing to contribute to the technical operation, but they finally let out cheers of relief as the danger receded.
"We can't get careless yet."
Even so, Jin allowed himself to relax, sensing the worst of the crisis had passed.
It was just before 1:00 PM.
"Father, please eat something, even if it is just a light snack. Everyone else, please help yourselves."
Reiko arrived carrying a platter of sandwiches.
"Thanks, Reiko."
Jin took a ham sandwich, and Elsa chose egg. Goose reached for a Devil Bulb salad sandwich, Saki took a katsu sandwich, and Vivienne opted for the tuna-copy.
"Please, have some of this as well."
She served them citran juice mixed with carbonated water. The crisp, refreshing taste seemed to sweep away the heavy, oppressive atmosphere that had hung over the room.
"Ah, that hit the spot. Thanks, Reiko."
"Reiko-chan, thank you for the food."
"It was delicious."
After thanking Reiko, everyone turned their attention back to the magi-screen.
The display showed the typhoon's clouds breaking apart into scattered fragments.
『Estimated maximum instantaneous wind speed: 10 meters per second. The threat has been neutralized.』
"...Is it over?"
Jin let out a soft sigh of relief and leaned back into his chair, stretching his arms high above his head.
"Man, I'm glad that's over..."
"Jin-nii, thank you for your hard work."
"But why did a storm like that even form?"
Jin had been calling it a "typhoon" for the sake of convenience, but the phenomenon was anything but natural.
『Regarding that, My Lord, I detect the unmistakable scent of human intervention.』
"Intervention... huh."
"Intervention..."
"Intervention, indeed."
"Intervention, you say?"
"Intervention... I see."
Starting with Jin, no one in the room looked particularly surprised.
"A typhoon that crosses the equator... it’s definitely not normal. Was it Helente?"
『Given the point of origin, the probability is high. Her motives remain unknown.』
Beyond that, the sheer technical prowess required to generate a typhoon and dictate its path was nothing short of terrifying.
『Indeed. I suspect the use of something akin to a force generator, yet I could not detect any magical power signature.』
"A power we can't detect... It seems they’re still hiding more technology from us."
『It is likely a byproduct of terraforming technology.』
"Most likely. Which means there's a chance they'll try something like this again."
"They really are a massive nuisance!"
"Saki, I think 'nuisance' is a bit of an understatement."
"...Agreed."
Jin and the others felt a renewed sense of resolve, braced by a vague, lingering premonition of things to come.