After a brief consultation, Jin and Laojun decided to send a team into the Disaster to execute a stop command and bring the vessel to a complete halt.
The infiltration team consisted of Reiko and seven units from the Land squad, specifically Land 21 through 27.
Reiko had already returned to Hourai Island from the battleship Hotaka using a Warp Gate.
"Reiko, I'm counting on you."
『Yes, leave it to me, Father.』
Jin issued his instructions from the Adriana, and Reiko replied instantly.
She was not dressed in her usual apron dress.
"Ji—Jin, that outfit!"
"I've never seen her look like that before!"
Most of the Jin Family members were seeing Reiko in her combat gear for the first time.
To put it simply, it was a battle suit.
While Jin had designed the functional concept, Elsa had taken the lead on the aesthetic design.
The base material was Ancient Dragon leather. The helmet—more of a tactical headpiece—was a composite of Gigant Peeder shell and hyper-adamantite.
The Gigant Peeder shell offered exceptional protection against lasers.
The breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves were crafted from the same composite.
Furthermore, the suit featured various magical armaments as integrated systems.
The full gear weighed twenty kilograms, but such a load was trivial for Reiko.
"Reiko used to fight in her maid uniform. We crafted this as a specialized set of auxiliary equipment—a power upgrade, if you will."
In preparation for this mission, Reiko had also undergone fine-tuning to increase her output by about twenty percent, but the suit was the primary enhancement.
"How should I put it... she truly looks like a 'Valkyrie' now," Goose muttered, his face filled with admiration.
"A Valkyrie... I suppose she does. I wanted to equip the Land squad with them as well, but we didn't have enough time to mass-produce that many," Jin explained.
"Ah, so that's why there are only seven of them."
Those seven Land units had also finished donning battle suits. While their designs differed from Reiko's, they were based on the same tactical concept.
Unlike humans, they had no need to breathe, so their suits were completely airtight and watertight, with no need for oxygen tanks. Instead, the extra space was used to house mana bombes.
"First, we disable the energy systems," Jin stated.
Reinhard nodded in agreement. "That’s definitely the right call. If we corner the Brain too suddenly, there’s no telling what kind of desperate measures it might take."
"Exactly. I'm worried about what would happen if they triggered an Ether Stampede or something similar."
"Ah, I see. That’s why you’re cutting the power first," Saki said, nodding emphatically.
"Yes. And then, I want to seize the Disaster and put it to use for our side."
Back on Hourai Island, the team’s preparations for deployment were complete.
『Father, we are departing.』
After a final salute to Jin on the Adriana, Reiko and her squad stepped into the transporter area.
＊ ＊ ＊
『Now, initiating teleportation.』
At Laojun’s prompt, Reiko and the seven Land units vanished from Hourai Island. Almost simultaneously, they materialized within the Disaster’s engine room.
"There is no mistake. This is our target," Reiko said, observing the massive Magi Machine that dominated the space. "This is undoubtedly a mana driver....As Father predicted, they use mana tanks instead of a magi reactor because this vessel operates in regions where free ether is unavailable."
"Ojou-sama, enemies approaching," Land 27 reported.
Ten deformed golems were closing in, brandishing weapon-like attachments.
"We will intercept them."
Reiko drew Touka. The Land units likewise drew their vibration swords.
"Ojou-sama, please leave these units to us. Focus on the mana driver," Land 21 told Reiko.
"Understood. I leave them in your hands."
Reiko swung Touka, slashing at the outer casing of the mana driver.
A heavy clank echoed as the metal was sliced open, but the breach wasn't deep enough.
"It is quite sturdy. Once more."
After four precise slashes, the outer casing finally peeled away, exposing the machinery inside.
"So this is the interior....Laojun, please record this data."
Thinking the structure might be useful for Jin’s future research, Reiko requested Laojun to record the internal configuration. At the same time, she collected a fragment of the casing as a material sample—another souvenir for her father.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Oh, Reiko-chan is as impressive as ever."
Reinhard, watching the feed through a Peeper, offered his praise.
"The battle suit almost seems redundant at this rate..." Jin muttered, lost in his own thoughts.
Meanwhile, the Land squad was engaging the ten deformed golems.
"Hmm, they're outnumbered seven to ten, but they aren't yielding an inch. Incredible..." Count Kuzuma groaned.
The vibration swords wielded by the Land squad carved through the deformed golems with ease. Before long, the skirmish was over.
"...Is that it?"
"That was... rather underwhelming," Beena and Lishia said, their voices tinged with disbelief at the one-sidedness of the fight.
"Well, it's better than them struggling, isn't it?" Jin said with a wry smile.
Beena chuckled. "I suppose so."
『Father, I am now shutting down the mana driver.』
Reiko’s voice came through the comms.
"Alright, go ahead."
"Yes."
Reiko used Touka to sever the magi-circuit that acted as the input interface for the massive mana driver. Next, she sliced through the thick mithril conductors.
Disconnected from its control core and severed from the mana supply of its mana tanks, the mana driver ground to a halt.
According to Laojun’s reconnaissance, there were still eleven more of these facilities throughout the vessel.
"Good. Move on and disable the rest."
『Understood.』
To maximize efficiency, Jin had the team return via transporter to the battleship Hotaka, which was serving as their local backup. From there, they used a Warp Gate to return to Hourai Island, then used the island’s primary transporter to jump directly to the coordinates of the next mana driver.
It seemed like a roundabout process, but because it bypassed the need to fight through the Disaster’s interior hallways, it proved to be the fastest and safest method.
Thanks to this strategy, all twelve mana drivers were successfully shut down within an hour.