A fresh assault from Agente descended upon Reiko.
It was a magical attack. To her surprise, it was remarkably similar to Induction. However, it had little effect on her.
"Such a display is useless against me," Reiko said.
《What?!》
Reiko’s skin and muscles were crafted from dragon leather, a material harvested from the Ancient Dragon, the absolute apex of the Ars ecosystem.
Her skeleton was made of adamantite. To minimize weight, the interior featured a foamed structure, with the voids meticulously filled with scraps of that same dragon leather.
Induction was a spell that acted upon conductive materials like metal, utilizing the heat generated by induced currents to incinerate the target from within. However, materials from an Ancient Dragon were natural insulators.
Furthermore, because her adamantite frame had undergone molecular compression, it lacked free electrons, making it nearly as non-conductive as an insulator.
In addition, the Ancient Dragon materials were invulnerable to any mana other than that which flowed within the leather itself. The mana waves of the Induction spell simply stopped at the surface of her skin and were reflected away.
《Wh-What is this?!》
Agente’s voice finally betrayed a hint of panic.
"So you are capable of sounding flustered," Jin D muttered.
《Grrr, you terrifying creature. Now, more than ever, I cannot allow you to approach the Master!》
Agente doubled down on its offensive. The floor under Reiko’s feet began to crumble into dust. Yet, Reiko remained perfectly composed.
"A Sonic Boom? I will not budge for something so trivial. The floor is starting to break, though—is that quite alright with you?"
A Sonic Boom was a physical shockwave generated by magic. However, in terms of physical durability, Reiko’s body was constructed from the strongest materials in the Known World.
"At this rate, Kuna will be the one to break first."
《Uugh... it was a mistake to ever invite someone like you inside.》
"That was your own error in judgment. I find it quite offensive that you would try to shift the blame onto us."
《Silence!》
A flash of electricity arced through the air—lightning-attribute magic.
But Reiko’s body was shielded by dragon leather, an insulator that would not allow current to flow even if subjected to hundreds of millions of volts.
《Guh... then take this! Heat Up!》
It was a spell that seemed to be a degraded version of the Overheat spell Jin had developed.
"You are wasting your effort."
The heat resistance of the materials forming Reiko’s body was comparable to adamantite. Her melting point was well over 3,000 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, she was reinforced with Jin’s finest Toughening spell.
Toughening was a technique that increased the binding force of molecules and atoms using a web of free ether. Since melting is a phenomenon where those bonds loosen due to thermal energy, any substance treated with Toughening gained not only physical strength but an increased melting and boiling point as well.
It was painfully obvious that the room’s structural materials, like the floor and ceiling, would succumb long before she did.
《Uuuugh... then how about this!》
Reiko’s weight instantly increased a hundredfold. Gravity Magic.
"Is that all?"
The metal floor began to buckle under her sudden 3,000-kilogram mass, but Reiko herself didn't even flinch. During her past battle with Raldus of the Jest clan, she had endured a thousandfold gravity. Now that she had been powered up several times over, a mere hundredfold increase was negligible.
《Wh-What a terrifying monster...》
Agente’s voice now trembled with unmistakable fear. Reiko’s power was simply too overwhelming.
《But you too must surely operate on free ether. Eat this!》
"!"
The next attack Agente unleashed was functionally equivalent to an ether eliminator—an attack designed to strip away the free ether possessed by the target.
"It does not work."
《What?》
Jin had already developed a similar Magi Machine and had engineered countermeasures against it.
An ether eliminator used special mana waves to forcibly remove free ether. Because these waves were far stronger than those produced by a typical ether converter, any golem, automata, or magi caught in its field would have their energy source drained away.
Essentially, it was a tug-of-war over free ether. However, Reiko’s magi reactor operated with mana waves far stronger than those of any standard ether eliminator. A half-baked attempt had no hope of affecting her.
《Umuuu, then what about this!》
The concentration of free ether in the area immediately surrounding Reiko surged to five hundred times the normal level.
《You cannot possibly withstand such a sudden surge... Wh-What?!》
"Is that the end of it?"
Reiko stood there, perfectly calm.
《H-How terrifying...》
Agente’s voice was now shaking violently.
《What kind of existence have I brought inside... Ah, Master, forgive me!...》
With that final plea, the voice faded away and went silent.
"My Lord, what do you think?"
"It realized it couldn't win and retreated....What now?"
"That Agente is likely a magi-brain. If that is the case, there is something that bothers me slightly."
"Me too," Jin replied, his thoughts perfectly aligned with Laojun's. "It is far too illogical, wouldn't you say?"
"Yes. It exhibits many behaviors uncharacteristic of a magi-brain."
Jin wondered if that was due to some inherent flaw, a weakness resulting from an attempt to make it more biological, or perhaps something else entirely. As an engineer, he was fascinated.
"Shall we proceed a little further?"
"Yeah. Let's do it."
In the now silent hall, the only things moving were Reiko and Jin D. Even 1402, the golem that had guided them this far, had become motionless.
Jin D had deployed an Aegis to shield himself from the aftereffects of the clash, so he remained unscathed.
"Well then, let’s head a bit further... or rather, let's head toward the center of Kuna."
Whether demons or monsters lay in wait, Jin—controlling his Body Double—felt a surge of anticipation.
"Understood. Please leave the path-clearing to me."
Reiko gave the hall door a firm push. With a groan of twisting metal, the heavy door buckled, leaving an opening wide enough for a person to pass through comfortably.
"Now, let us go."
Together, Jin D and Reiko proceeded deeper into the heart of the satellite.