“My name is Reiko. I look forward to our acquaintance.”
Upon seeing the Supervising Brain, Reiko offered her formal greetings.
At this point, the Supervising Brain finally seemed to realize that Reiko was not human. Bolts of electricity rained down toward her.
《I shall praise you for making it this far. However, this is the end. Burn to a crisp.》
“I refuse.”
《!?》
The Supervising Brain was left speechless as Reiko calmly weathered the lightning.
“Please do not think you can stop me with something of this level.”
《Grrr... In that case, take this!》
“?”
Reiko’s weight suddenly increased fiftyfold. It was gravity magic.
《Be crushed!》
“I refuse that as well.”
Reiko used her own gravity magic to neutralize the 50G load.
《What?!》
Reiko began walking briskly toward the Supervising Brain.
《Then!》
A magic circle glowed on the floor, and a rugged-looking golem appeared between her and the brain.
“So this time, that is my opponent?”
Reiko stopped and stood her ground.
《That is not all!》
Dozens of Magic Hands sprouted from the ceiling and the floor.
“...I see. This is certainly a bit troublesome.”
Reiko used Touka to slash through the Magic Hands attempting to seize her. Just then, the golem charged at her.
“!”
Reiko dodged instantly, but a Magic Hand rising from the floor caught her foot, throwing her off balance. The golem’s kick flew toward her.
“Do not underestimate me!”
Boosting her output to fifty percent, Reiko instantly tore the Magic Hand apart and caught the golem’s leg with her left hand. At the same moment, she swung Touka in an upward arc with her right.
Despite its bulky appearance, the golem dodged the blow with surprising agility.
《What a monster...》
The Supervising Brain’s voice echoed, sounding almost appalled. By now, Reiko had slashed away every single Magic Hand on the floor and ceiling.
“That’s much cleaner.”
As Reiko kicked the severed Magic Hands into a corner of the room, the golem attacked once more. Reiko met the strike with Touka.
To her surprise, her blade was blocked.
“...A buckler?”
A small shield—a buckler—attached to the golem’s left arm had intercepted Touka’s edge.
“It is quite sturdy, isn't it?”
However, Reiko’s eyes didn’t miss the faint scratch her blade had left on the shield.
“It seems it is weaker than the hyper-adamantite developed by my Father!”
As she continued her assault, the scratches multiplied.
《Guh! You say it is harder than reinforced adamantite?!》
Finally, the buckler was sliced clean in half.
《Terrifying, ‘Lord of Kunlun.’ But how about this!》
“!!”
A massive wave of free ether struck Reiko and the golem. The golem twitched violently and froze. Then, it slowly collapsed to the floor.
《How do you like it? The taste of free ether at a concentration one thousand times the norm. Your ether converter surely cannot withstand it!》
“...Ugh.”
This attack was unexpected for both Reiko and Jin. They had prepared countermeasures for attacks that reduced free ether, but they had never imagined it being increased.
Magi-materials exposed to a concentration one thousand times higher than normal began to groan under the strain; the weaker components simply burst. The golem sent by the Supervising Brain was no exception. Its ether converter shattered, rendering it unable to ever rise again.
And Reiko, too...
...Or so it should have been.
The girl-shaped “something” standing before the Supervising Brain was moving as if nothing had happened—or at least, she appeared to be.
“...That last attack was dangerous.”
Using strictly selected materials, Jin had poured his heart and soul into the creation of his precious daughter. Reiko’s body and her magi reactor had endured even a thousandfold concentration of free ether.
《W-Who on earth are you...》
“My name is Reiko. I am an automata.”
Reiko continued her advance toward the Supervising Brain, Touka still held in her right hand.
《D-Do not come any closer!》
When she had closed the distance to about five meters, the air between Reiko and the Supervising Brain shimmered.
“A barrier... I see.”
《Yes. It possesses the strength to withstand a direct hit from a meteorite. You cannot break this!!》
“It is certainly tedious. But there are several ways.”
Reiko decided to employ the power of her bracelet.
“Laser.”
Reasoning that it should work if visible light could pass through, she fired a test shot. The beam punched a small hole into the side of the Supervising Brain’s hemispherical dome.
《Wha—!》
“As I thought, there are ways.”
Besides this, she could always dig a hole under the floor. She doubted a solid barrier could be projected through solid matter.
《Grrr... So this is the power of the ‘Lord of Kunlun’...》
“Please, just give up already.”
《I will do no such thing!》
The temperature in the room began to rise rapidly.
《Can you withstand temperatures that would melt steel?!》
“This is lukewarm.”
《W-Whyyyyyy?!》
The ground spider silk used in Reiko’s clothing and hair had a melting point higher than steel.
Then:
“Absolute Zero.”
Countless cracks formed throughout the room as it was flash-frozen.
《Aaaaaah...》
“Give up. Induction.”
Reiko used electromagnetic induction to generate heat, cooking the area around the Supervising Brain. After a few dozen seconds, the barrier vanished, likely because its generator had failed.
《It is over...》
Nothing remained to separate Reiko from the Supervising Brain.
“Now then, let us proceed with the exclusion.”
Reiko began to pry the Micro-Magi Machines off the hemispherical dome. She had plucked off six and was reaching for the seventh.
《Stop! Those things will erode you!》
Immediately afterward, all seven Micro-Magi Machines swarmed and latched onto Reiko’s body.