Slipping through the hole in the floor, Reiko and her team pressed toward the sphere’s center.
The interior was dimly lit, though not enough to hinder Reiko or the Land units.
The vessel was divided into decks, much like the Adriana. Reiko noted the layout; it had likely been built in a gravity-well, she mused as she moved.
"There is a staircase over here," one of them noted.
With a staircase available, there was no longer any need to cut through the floors. Reiko and the others made steady progress toward the core.
"Nothing is happening," Reiko murmured. Their advance was so effortless it was almost anticlimactic.
"Is it not a good thing to proceed without incident?" Land 23 asked.
"I suppose so, but..." Reiko nodded, though a sense of unease lingered.
They descended another level.
"We should be close now."
She calculated that if the diameter was fifty meters, the center would be at twenty-five meters. Assuming five meters per deck, she estimated they were roughly five levels deep.
"Is it that way?" Land 22 pointed.
Cables and pipes snaked along the walls, all converging in one direction. The atmosphere suggested an important facility lay just ahead.
They advanced with cautious steps.
"A bulkhead."
They were definitely in the right place.
"I will open it," Land 22 said, stepping forward to grasp the door.
"...Hm?"
"What is the matter? Is it stuck?" Reiko asked at Land 22’s puzzled tone.
"No, quite the opposite. There was no resistance at all."
Just as he said, the door swung open with only a slight groan.
"Now that I mention it, there is air in this sector, however thin," Reiko noted.
They had been communicating via manacam, but they could now hear the physical sounds of their environment.
"There must have been a barrier somewhere keeping the atmosphere contained."
Dismissing the detail as secondary, they stepped inside.
There, the magi-brain revealed itself.
[So, you have finally arrived, Live Puppet created by a barbarian.]
The brain emitted a synthesized voice.
"Are you the central brain of this sphere?" Reiko asked.
[I am.]
"What was your objective here?"
[It is obvious: the extraction of resources from Planet Ars.]
"And what did you intend to do with those resources?"
[Deliver them to my home planet, Hale.]
"As I suspected."
So far, it was merely confirmation.
"As a representative of the will of those who dwell on Ars, I cannot permit that."
[I require no permission. I shall take them by force.]
Reiko smirked. "You are hardly in a position to do that now, are you?"
[True enough. Barbarian though you may be, I shall concede that you have done well.]
"Tell me, what is the current state of Hale?"
[My master awaits the resources.]
"Your master? So there truly are people still living on Hale?"
[There are.]
"I see."
This was incredibly valuable information.
"Why Ars? Since when has this been happening? Surely there are other planets you could have exploited," Reiko pressed, firing off questions in rapid succession.
[It began 1,108 years ago. Naturally, we have traveled to other worlds to secure resources. However, this planet is the most suitable.]
"And why is that?"
[I do not know. My master simply said that he is relying on this planet.]
"Is that so..."
Reiko felt a flicker of kinship with this magi-brain, if only on a single point: its absolute devotion to serving its master.
"However, I too have things I cannot yield."
[I... suppose so, little Live Puppet.]
"Can you repel my attack?"
[No. That, I cannot do. However...]
"However?"
[One more thing before the end. Even if I am defeated, my master will eventually send an agent far greater than I.]
"Is that all you have to say?"
[It is... indeed. Do you have anything else you wish to ask?]
"Nothing comes to mind immediately. But it would be quite useful to disconnect you and take you back with us for further inquiry."
[Regrettably, I cannot allow that.]
"What?"
[Perish with me, Live Puppet created by a barbarian!]
"!"
"Oh, the attacks have stopped!"
"It looks like Reiko-chan and the others did it."
Inside the Adriana, Jin breathed a sigh of relief as the situation seemed to stabilize.
"It looks like Land 21 successfully neutralized their weapons."
"Then we should be getting a report any second now," Saki added, her voice tinged with excitement.
But then.
Suddenly, the magi-screen whited out completely.
"Whoa!"
"Kyaa!"
A violent vibration rocked the ship, despite being in the vacuum of space.
"That was a spatial explosion caused by gravity fluctuations," Taisei reported, its voice calm as it delivered the analysis. "The Aegis successfully blocked all debris and fragments."
However...
"The enemy sphere... it’s gone!"
"Was that explosion the sphere itself!?"
"Did it... self-destruct?"
The members of the Jin Family turned pale.
"Jin! What about Reiko-chan? What about the Land squad?"
"..."
Jin did not answer.