"I understand. That’s enough."
Laojun, controlling Jin's Doppel, spoke as he finished extracting information from Helente.
"I see. It seems I cannot cooperate any further."
With those words, Helente left the room. Once she was out of sight—
"Alright, we strike tonight."
The order came not from Laojun, but from Jin himself.
* * *
"I agree. Waiting any longer won't give us any further advantage."
"I think so too. If we have a chance, it's a surprise attack, right?"
"That would be the most effective strategy."
"Right. We'll also need an Invisible generator, a Magi-Jammer, an ether jammer, and a Magic Canceller."
According to what they had learned from Helente, the Supervising Brain and the golems on Onogoro Island were programmed to never kill humans.
However, unintentional actions—such as a swinging arm striking someone in the wrong place during a struggle—were categorized as unforeseen accidents and were exceptions to the rule. They couldn't afford to be careless.
Furthermore, the energy supply system was independent, meaning they couldn't interfere with it from the outside.
"If there’s any opening..."
"It would be the transporter, wouldn’t it?"
"Exactly."
If they could send someone close to the Supervising Brain using a transporter, they might have a chance.
Unfortunately, a barrier was maintained around the Supervising Brain, so they could only teleport someone to just outside its perimeter.
From there, they would have to reach the Supervising Brain and check for any Micro-Magi Machines attached to it.
If any were found, they would have to be removed. For the sake of this world's peace.
However, one problem remained.
"Only you can operate the transporter, Laojun."
As long as the Doppel and Reiko remained on Onogoro Island, they couldn't benefit from the main transporter on Hourai Island.
"They do have the portable transporter..."
The portable transporter was a device developed during the liberation of the demon territory from the Failure; it allowed its user to teleport short distances.
They would have to use this to escape Onogoro Island's sphere of influence, return to Hourai Island via a Warp Gate—like the one on Konron 3—and then teleport back to the target coordinates.
"If we don't do it as quickly as possible, they'll go on high alert and deploy a special barrier, which would ruin the plan."
"Yeah, that's the issue."
No matter how much they hurried, the process would take a few minutes—likely two or three. That was more than enough time for the Supervising Brain to enter a full defensive state.
They needed a way to bridge that gap.
"My Lord, I believe it would be best to give up on using the Doppel for this."
"I suppose you're right."
"Yes. The Doppel has almost no autonomy; if the remote control is severed, the unit becomes useless."
"True."
"We should leave this to Reiko-san."
"I guess that's the only way..."
The target was likely located deep underground. Their preparations had to be thorough.
"Touka, the transporter, the Magi-Jammer, the ether jammer, the Magic Canceller... what else?"
Since Reiko had a built-in mana bombe, they didn't need to worry about her power supply.
"And a powerful barrier."
This was a countermeasure against the island's magi-nullification field.
"Yes, that should be sufficient. After that, we can only leave the rest to Reiko-san."
"Alright, let's start the preparations immediately."
"Understood."
* * *
Jin and Laojun spent an hour getting everything ready.
Simultaneously, they relayed the plan to Reiko via manacam.
"Father, leave everything to me."
Her response was as reliable as ever.
* * *
"Well then, it's time."
Reiko stood up inside her solitary cell and activated the specialized transporter.
In an instant, she was outside the cell.
It was a custom-tuned transporter that utilized the Peeper for precise targeting.
Activating her Invisible state, Reiko headed toward the Supervising Brain’s location, guided by the information from Helente.
"This wall should be it."
At first glance, it was just an ordinary wall, but Sonar revealed a hollow space within. It was an emergency passage.
"According to Helente-san, it's around here..."
Reiko scanned the floor. Her eyes caught a faint indentation.
"Right above this..."
Next, she looked at the ceiling.
"There it is."
There was a slight protrusion on the ceiling. Reiko leaped lightly and pressed it.
An opening appeared in the wall.
"This is the entrance."
Without a moment's hesitation, Reiko dove inside.
"Opening the emergency passage has likely alerted the Supervising Brain."
She rushed down the spiral staircase ahead at a speed that could literally be described as flying.
"...This is too slow."
The next moment, Reiko's feet left the ground. She activated her force generator.
Accelerating further, Reiko plunged deep underground.
After descending about a hundred meters, she came to a sudden halt.
"A bulkhead. This is the part that only opens during emergencies... when the ether is depleted. Father said this about it..."
"In principle, it’s not difficult. You use springs or gravity to make a door that is open by default, then close it using magic. When the ether runs out, the door opens—that's how it works."
"That is what he said. In that case..."
Reiko aimed the Magic Canceller at the area around the door and activated it.
Ten seconds later, the door slid open.
"It’s exactly as Father predicted."
Reiko continued her descent.
She had likely traveled another two hundred meters when she stopped again. A sturdy bulkhead blocked her path.
"...This part requires a passcode to open. And only the Supervising Brain knows it."
Furthermore, it apparently opened easily from the opposite side. Since it was an emergency passage, it was likely designed to facilitate a quick escape.
"I cannot afford to dally."
Reiko drew Touka from her back.
"Hah!"
In a flash, the blade lashed out four times, carving a square hole through the twenty-centimeter-thick steel.
A moment later, the cut-out section of the bulkhead hit the floor with a thunderous roar.
"Who... what are you?"
Beyond the opening lay the Supervising Brain itself.
It was a metallic hemisphere, approximately one meter in diameter.
And on its surface, Reiko confirmed the presence of seven black protrusions—Micro-Magi Machines.