[Evacuate!]
The Shinobi Squad ducked behind the door a split second before the waiting Deformed Golems could open fire.
The incoming attack was electrical. Its relatively low intensity made the enemy’s intentions transparent: they wanted to stop the intruders without damaging the base’s interior.
They couldn't stay hidden forever; the Deformed Golems were steadily closing in.
Shinobi 1 prepared to spring out, judging that they could withstand a shock of that level.
"Negative. Stay where you are."
Instructions from Laojun came through the link.
"There is a high probability that the opposition is intentionally using weak attacks to make you overconfident. The moment you show yourselves, they will likely strike with an entirely different order of magnitude."
[Then, what should we do?]
Even as they spoke, the Deformed Golems continued to approach.
"Use Emergency Weapon No. 1."
Permission was granted to use the first of the three pieces of special equipment they had been issued.
[Deploying No. 1. Everyone, prepare!]
At Shinobi 1's command, the ten mini-golems each produced a small sphere.
Each was only about a millimeter in diameter.
[Alright, ready. Three, two, one, throw!]
The ten members of the Shinobi Squad threw the spheres simultaneously.
They struck just as the lead Deformed Golem reached the doorway.
Light burst forth.
The true identity of those spheres was the Ether Bomb.
Though they were called bombs, they did not cause a physical explosion. Instead, they released extremely compressed free ether all at once, saturating the surrounding space.
Jin had prepared these after taking a hint from the attack the Supervising Brain had used against Reiko, which had increased the local ether concentration by a factor of a thousand.
Standard ether converters and magi reactors convert ambient free ether into mana to power golems and other machinery.
The conversion rate is constant.
If the free ether concentration doubles, the converted mana also doubles. Accordingly, the force generated by magical muscles and the power of magic increase in kind.
However, that relationship only holds true up to a concentration of about five times the norm.
If the concentration were to reach ten thousand times the norm, an ether converter could not safely generate ten thousand times the mana, nor could a mana driver convert that into physical energy.
To use an analogy, suppose the ether converter is a wind turbine and the mana driver is a motor.
If the wind is strong—meaning there is plenty of free ether—the wind turbine generates a large amount of electricity, or mana.
The motor supplied with that power would then demonstrate high rotation and high torque, manifesting as powerful magic.
But it is a matter of degree.
No wind turbine exists that can withstand wind speeds of ten thousand meters per second—especially since such a wind would exceed the speed of sound and is physically impossible—and no motor can withstand ten thousand times its rated voltage.
The result is inevitably catastrophic failure.
The same principle applies even if the power source is a magi reactor rather than an ether converter and mana driver.
Every one of the Deformed Golems had its power system fried, causing them to stand still.
Incidentally, the Shinobi Squad remained unaffected because they were all using mana bombes to maintain their own power levels, insulating them from the sudden surge and the general lack of ambient free ether.
[All enemies silenced.]
[Good. Let's use this time to set up the teleportation magic circle.]
They were in an elevator hall.
There might have been a better location deeper in, but then again, there might not.
Judging the conditions to be sufficient, Shinobi 1 chose to establish the bridgehead here.
Shinobi 6 through 10 worked together to carve the magic circle into the floor.
Shinobi 1 through 5 stood guard.
[Installation complete.]
[Good.]
The work was reported to Laojun, who immediately relayed the word to Onogoro Island.
Simultaneously, the newly carved magic circle woke up and emitted a faint light.
"Installation of the teleportation magic circle is complete. Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
《Understood.》
Jin's Doppel, Land 11 through 15, and Helente gave short replies and stepped into the magic circle.
＊ ＊ ＊
"The second wave has finally departed."
On Hourai Island, Jin muttered to himself as he watched the magi-screen.
The projection had switched to the feed from his Doppel.
It showed the interior of the mobile base, along with the Land squad and Helente.
Incidentally, every member of the team had already had their internal shield cases replaced with psi mithril.
"It's a pain that the Peeping Telescope is useless right now."
The base’s barrier was quite powerful; aside from the fixed maintenance holes, neither free ether nor ether waves could pass through it.
Since those holes weren't oriented toward Hourai Island, the Peeper’s visual feed couldn't be adjusted to look inside.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Good work. After this, wait here as the rear guard."
Having teleported into the mobile base, Jin’s Doppel thanked the Shinobi Squad and issued new orders.
[Understood.]
The group then left the elevator room and entered a massive hall.
Dozens of the Deformed Golems that had been disabled earlier were scattered across the floor.
"Hmm, the shapes aren't consistent at all... I wonder what concept the designer had in mind?"
There were round torsos, square torsos, conical ones, and cylindrical ones. Some were shaped like wheels, others like rods or donuts.
The arms and legs were thin, with counts varying from four to six, eight, and even eleven.
Some were large, others were tiny.
Even with multiple designers, it was hard to imagine them producing such a disjointed collection of appearances.
While Jin puzzled over this through the Doppel, Helente was also looking around and sighing.
《Umu, this is vastly different from the records I possess.》
"They've probably spent a considerable number of years modifying things without any oversight."
《Umu.》
"There's no point standing around talking. Let's move."
Jin’s Doppel and the group proceeded cautiously.
For the time being, they moved along the walls of the hall, searching for doors.
《...None to be found.》
"Yeah."
Eventually, they completed a full circuit of the hall.
"In that case, the next logical step is to assume there's something in the center of the hall."
《That is likely the case. However, it will be dangerous.》
The massive hall provided excellent visibility, but that also meant there was nowhere to hide.
If they were spotted, it would lead to immediate combat.
However, having no other choice, the group aimed for the center of the hall while remaining on high alert.
"Master, I hear footsteps."
Land 11, walking in the lead, issued a warning. It seemed a second wave of Deformed Golems was approaching.
《It wouldn't be strange for reinforcements to arrive now.》
"Alright, Land 13, 14, and 15, deploy barriers. We'll intercept them."