"Reiko!"
Jin, watching the situation through the Peeping Telescope—the Peeper—cried out without thinking.
Seven Micro-Magi Machines were clinging to Reiko's body: her head, face, neck, chest, back, abdomen, and right shoulder.
<<Oh, this is bad! Those things will hijack the control core and place her under their domination! Even a shield won't mean a thing...!>>
"..."
Reiko didn't move. Or rather, she couldn't move.
Then, Helente arrived.
Since the Micro-Magi Machines had been removed and the Supervising Brain had returned to normal, Helente had been granted permission to enter the inner sanctum.
<<Oh, Reiko-dono!>>
Helente cried out in a pained voice as she rushed toward her.
But...
"I am fine," Reiko said.
She began plucking the clinging Micro-Magi Machines off one by one, crushing them in her grip.
"My shield was not breached."
<<H-How?>>
"Because my Father built me that way."
＊ ＊ ＊
On Hourai Island, Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
"My Lord, your countermeasures were effective," Laojun noted.
"Yeah, they really were."
"To send a psi mithril shield case through the transporter and have the Doppel swap it... I am truly impressed."
"Better safe than sorry. I thought it would work based on the experiments, but I panicked for a moment when seven of them latched on. I need to reflect on that."
Jin realized he had been somewhat overconfident.
"Father, the Micro-Magi Machines were dangerous, so I destroyed them all. However, I managed to copy some of their data."
A transmission came in from Reiko. The period of silence had been because she was busy with that task.
"Oh, well done."
"The information is stored in a magi-recorder. Should I send it immediately?"
Jin thought for a moment before responding.
"No, wait until things have settled down a bit more. Focus on the Supervising Brain for now."
"Understood."
"I'll send the Doppel over there as well."
"I will be waiting."
＊ ＊ ＊
<<............>>
"It is over now."
The Micro-Magi Machines had all been removed. The Supervising Brain should finally be free from their control.
<<I thank you, Live Puppet... no, automata.>>
"Are you capable of sound judgment now?"
<<Of course.>>
"That is good to hear."
It was good for Onogoro Island, and for the world.
"There are no malfunctions or damage, correct?"
<<None. I am functional. Those things were not physically eroding me, after all.>>
"What do you mean?"
<<They were... hm, let's call them 'Domination Devices'—Beherrscher.>>
"Beherrscher?"
<<Yes. They were obstructing our thoughts and restricting our actions.>>
At that moment, Jin's Doppel arrived.
"Everything is finished," Reiko reported concisely—or rather, she made a show of doing so.
<<'Lord of Kunlun'... I assume. My apologies for everything. And I thank you again for the maintenance of this facility.>>
"Is there nothing else wrong?"
<<No. I have reconstructed the information in the memory gaps, so I know exactly what happened.>>
"That's a relief."
＊ ＊ ＊
The Supervising Brain then began explaining the circumstances to Jin's Doppel.
According to its account, even while being manipulated, the Brain had resisted and tried to act in Jin's favor. That was why seven Beherrscher had been attached to it.
<<I could not resist completely, but I believe I managed to act in your best interests to some degree.>>
"...Well, that's certainly true."
The way the island had deployed its forces in small increments during the investigation was apparently due to this resistance.
<<What I struggled with most was deceiving them regarding the Lord of Kunlun's true capabilities.>>
"Deceiving them?"
<<Indeed. You possess the power to dispose of fragments of Modenu, do you not? That implies you have the means to travel into space.>>
That was logically sound. In fact, it was something anyone could realize with a bit of thought.
"I did think it was strange how little you reacted to that."
<<Despite your strength, I forcibly maintained the perception that hot air balloons were the only means of flight in this world.>>
The Supervising Brain explained that hiding the necessary information from the Beherrscher had required a staggering amount of processing power. If it had been so inclined, the Onogoro Island side could likely have used much more powerful weaponry.
<<However, I could not suppress that typhoon.>>
"Indeed... That was quite difficult to deal with."
<<I apologize for that. But hiding the skill you used to eliminate it was also quite a daunting task.>>
"I can imagine."
At this point, Jin decided to ask about the mastermind.
"You've been mentioning 'them' for a while now, but who or what have you been hiding this information from?"
<<Hm, you ask a difficult question. We do not know their true identity either. That is why I have been avoiding the subject...>>
"But surely you can make a guess?"
<<It is certainly possible. They are likely the inhabitants of Hale.>>
"Hale? Didn't they migrate here to Ars?"
<<No, some remained behind. Whether they are the descendants of those people or some mutated lineage, I do not know.>>
That made sense, Jin thought.
"But if they are Haleans, why would they do this?"
<<That is exactly what I do not know. My hypothesis is that Hale, which was already lacking in resources, became even more uninhabitable, and they have become desperate.>>
Jin continued to gather various pieces of information from the Supervising Brain. Finally, the conversation reached the heart of the matter.
<<The mobile base beneath the ice of the South Pole has been hijacked. I wish to reclaim it. Could you lend me your assistance?>>