What followed was nothing but a one-sided slaughter.
With one arm pinned, there was nothing even the formidable Elena could do.
"You’ve put up quite the fight for a mere doll. Now, smash her."
At Guillermo’s command, the combat golem slammed Elena into the ground.
"Urgh!"
With the first strike, the sword was knocked from Elena’s hand.
With the second, a crack spiderwebbed through her right shoulder frame.
With the third, Elena’s face was crushed.
"See? This is what happens when a mere doll tries to defy me."
"……Why?"
"Hmm?"
"Why… are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Taking such joy… in these crimes. There is something… deeply wrong with you."
Guillermo Marukitasu merely brushed her words aside with indifference.
"Hmph. Spare me your tedious logic. What are crimes? Is it a crime simply because I go against the laws you people arbitrarily established? Don’t make me laugh."
In that moment, Elena realized the truth: Guillermo Marukitasu was not of sound mind.
"To begin with, justice and evil are entirely relative. The laws you created were only ever designed for your own convenience."
Even though she knew her opponent was insane, Elena couldn't stop herself from arguing back.
"That isn’t true… Laws are established over many years, and they are corrected whenever flaws are found."
"They were corrected to that, were they? It would be better to just destroy the whole world and start over from scratch."
"Do you… intend to destroy the world?"
"Hmm. That might be an interesting diversion."
At this point, Elena realized she had successfully bought enough time.
By now, every member of Nostalgia should have been able to evacuate through the emergency Warp Gate. They likely managed to take the most vital confidential documents with them as well.
"What would you do after destroying everything? No human can live alone."
Guillermo Marukitasu let out an arrogant laugh.
"Hahaha! That is hardly the sort of thing you say to a man who has already despaired of the world."
"……Despaired?"
"Oops, it seems I’ve talked too much.……Elena, was it? I considered making you my slave, but you’re so badly broken that fixing you would be a hassle.……Finish her."
"Eh… Kyaah!"
Elena was slammed into the floor once more before the combat golem kicked her across the room.
Her body collided with the wall with enough force to half-embed her in the masonry. With her systems utterly wrecked, she ceased functioning right then and there.
＊ ＊ ＊
"……However, I was lucky enough to wake up again later. I managed to crawl to the location of an emergency ultra-compact Warp Gate and escaped…… which is how I came to be here."
Elena finished her story.
"You’ve been through a lot."
"What a monster!"
Jin felt a deep sympathy for Elena. Reiko, however, was even more indignant on his behalf.
"Guillermo Marukitasu… He really is a madman."
Jin grimaced. Dealing with someone who couldn't be reasoned with was always a headache. Worse, there was the possibility that the man was suicidal.
"Taking the whole world with him in a suicide attempt… that’s not a joke I can appreciate."
The man justified his crimes with his own twisted logic. These were the most dangerous types of adversaries.
"……So the reason the Magic Federation regained its momentum after losing its influence was because Guillermo Marukitasu appeared," Lordtoss murmured.
"Hmm…… Even so, just like Golbart Marukitasu, this Guillermo has no traceable origin, right?"
"Correct."
"He just suddenly appeared as an adult…… or in Guillermo’s case, as an old man……"
Jin paused to consider the implications.
"Elena, earlier we discussed the possibility that those two are the same person."
"Yes."
"How likely do you think that is?"
"Based on physical appearance alone, I would say it's a certainty."
"Jin-san, but a human can't live that long, can they?" Lordtoss pointed out.
Jin shook his head. "That's generally true, but it's not like there isn't a way."
"What?"
"Under specific conditions, it should be possible to sleep for a long period of time while maintaining one's physical age."
Though he had been half-joking earlier, Jin decided it was best to assume that these two 'Marukitasus' were, in fact, the same individual.
He recalled how Rokure…… No. 600012, had attempted to create a homunculus based on Arshel the Puppet.
Earlier, he had considered far-fetched ideas like relativistic space travel, but when he thought of the homunculus technology, it occurred to him that one could span centuries by undergoing artificial hibernation inside a preservation solution.
Back on Earth, research into artificial hibernation had been a real field, and science fiction was full of such concepts.
"'Whatever man can imagine, man can realize,' right?……Regardless, the possibility isn't zero."
Jin himself had achieved numerous things through magi-craft that were considered impossible dreams by science alone.
"I suppose…… you’re right. If we dismiss it as impossible from the start, we'll never find the truth."
"Exactly.……So, assuming Guillermo and Golbart are the same person, why would he go into hibernation halfway through?"
Trying to predict the thoughts of an unstable mind was a grueling task. After mulling it over for five minutes, Jin and Lordtoss decided to set the question aside for now.
"Rather than the 'why,' we need to focus on how to deal with him from here on."
"I agree."
Elena chimed in. "If that is the case, please allow us to assist you."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Wait, let me get this straight. Jin-sama, you’re the master of the legendary Hourai Island? You're the actual Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou himself!?"
After some deliberation, Jin had decided to come clean to Liira and Arietta as well.
"I suppose you could say that. Just think of me as someone who was thrown here from the past due to a teleportation accident."
"So that’s why you suspected Guillermo might be the same person as Golbart Marukitasu!?"
"Well, that was part of it."
It was accurate enough for a general explanation, and Jin decided the fine details could wait. He shifted to the main topic.
"First of all, what is the current state of Nostalgia?"
Elena seemed just as curious. "Yes, Liira, Arietta—what is the situation?"
Since her destruction, Elena had been unable to track the organization’s status.
"Yes. I will explain," Liira began. "Ever since you fell, Elena-sama, the organization has been in a state of collapse."
"As I feared……"
Once an organization lost its core leader, disintegration was almost inevitable.
"Currently, the members led by Arietta and me aren't even one-fiftieth of our original numbers. Most of them are the younger members who managed to escape that day."
"So that is the current Nostalgia."
"Yes, that’s an accurate way to put it."
Liira and Arietta both nodded with a trace of sadness.
"As for those absorbed by the Magic Federation, it's likely only about a tenth. The rest have scattered—some have found regular jobs, some started independent businesses, and others have simply retired."
Arietta took over the explanation. "It seems a fair number have also found work back at Avalon."
"I see."
Jin realized that the current Nostalgia wasn't a secret society anymore, but functioned more like a private volunteer group.
He could understand why those associated with the group would be given favorable consideration elsewhere.