Kachea closed her eyes, certain that the end had finally come.
A sharp metallic clang echoed above her. Yet, no matter how long she waited, neither the impact nor the pain followed.
"...?"
Timidly, she opened her eyes.
"A golem...?"
A silver-brown golem she had never seen before was catching the enemy golem's strike.
"Hope...?"
It wasn't actually Hope, but the vibe was so similar that the name escaped her lips instinctively.
The silver-brown golem seized the enemy's arm, twisted its body, and slammed it into the ground. Kachea had no way of knowing it, but she was witnessing a martial arts technique from the Shouro Empire—a "twisting arm throw."
The enemy golem, its torso already mangled from earlier, ceased moving for good.
"I-I’m saved...?"
Finally finding the room to breathe, Kachea looked around.
"Oh..."
Including the one that had just rescued her, there were four silver-brown golems in total. They had already neutralized the four remaining enemy units.
What was truly remarkable was that they had done so through pure taijutsu, using no special magic or weapons.
Suddenly, Kachea snapped back to her senses.
"Eira-san!"
Eira had been sent flying and was still unconscious. However...
"What are you doing...?"
One of the silver-brown golems was crouching over Eira, feeding her some kind of liquid.
Though about half of it spilled, Eira managed to swallow the rest.
"Ugh... mm..."
She began to stir.
"Eira-san! Thank goodness!"
"Huh, Kachea?...What happened to me... Wh-who is this!?"
Waking up to find a silver-brown golem peering down at her, Eira looked startled.
"E-Eira-san, calm down. This golem is an ally... I think."
"Kachea, huh? You're safe? That's a relief..."
At that moment, the silver-brown golem spoke.
"All those who are unharmed, please gather here. It is difficult to protect you if you remain scattered."
"Th-This thing can talk...?"
"It's incredible. It's just like Jin-san's Hope."
When Kachea said that, Eira nodded as the pieces fell into place.
"Ah, right. This golem really does look like Hope."
By then, the other refugees had begun to congregate.
"Everyone, we have been dispatched by Deus Ex Machina-dono. We are also heading to other locations, so please rest easy," the golem announced.
"Deus Ex Machina...?"
For Eira, Kachea, and most of the others, it was a name they had never heard. However, Groma Tray was the exception.
"Deus Ex Machina?...So he really does exist..."
"Guro, you know the name?" Eira asked.
"Eh? Ah, yeah. Well, I only know the name. I heard about him from my master."
"What kind of person is he?"
"I don't know the details, but I believe he was one of the founders of Avalon. He’s also a world-class engineer who commands his own private army. Apparently, he used to suppress conflicts between nations before the World Security Guard was even established."
"...If that's true, he’s a monster. To possess that much military power as an individual... He could probably conquer the world if he felt like it."
Groma nodded.
"I thought so too. But according to my master, he has 'no interest' in such things."
"Ahahaha!"
Hearing that, Eira burst into a loud laugh.
"Ahaha... No, sorry. I only laughed because that’s a line I’d love to repeat to the high-ranking officials in this country."
World conquest—meaning, he had no interest in power. Eira was imagining how the Council of Ten would react to such a statement.
"That’s a fair point," Groma agreed.
"But they really do look like Jin-san's Hope," Kachea murmured.
"Well, they’re humanoid, so there's bound to be a resemblance," Eira replied.
"The enemy golems look like they're clad in armor, but the Hope that Jin made was built for general-purpose use, so he gave it a human-like appearance. It just means this Deus Ex Machina-dono also went for a human-like look. Besides, the size is different."
Hope was about 160 centimeters tall—on the smaller side. These silver-brown golems, however, were around 180 centimeters.
"I suppose so... but somehow, the vibe is just similar."
"Perhaps they end up looking alike if the design concept is based on human movement?" Groma Tray offered.
"Besides, there’s no way Jin could possess this much military power."
"Th-That's true, but..."
Faced with Eira's logic, Kachea dropped the subject.
"W-What!?"
Guillermo Marukitasu, observing the battlefield from the sky, widened his eyes in shock.
In the blink of an eye, a number of unidentified golems had appeared and were decimating the combat golems he had deployed.
"Curse them... Just watch what I do!"
Guillermo Marukitasu prepared to order his flagship, the soaring ship, to descend toward the ground. However...
[That is dangerous. I advise remaining at this altitude for a while longer.]
His assistant automata intervened.
"Dangerous?"
[Yes. There is a high probability that whoever transported those golems is nearby.]
The automata explained that if one assumed they were using some kind of invisibility device, they must possess world-class technology, and therefore he should refrain from reckless actions. Guillermo regained some of his composure.
"I see... How many of our golems remain?"
[Yes. We deployed one hundred units, but seventy-eight have been destroyed... Another was just taken out, so twenty-one remain.]
"Grrr..."
Just then, the assistant automata provided a new report.
[Marukitasu-sama, there are flying objects approaching. They appear to be airships from the World Security Guard.]
"What?"
Guillermo Marukitasu turned his attention to the corresponding magi-screen.
The screen displayed five approaching airships.
"Hmph. So those golems were their advance party?"
[No, Marukitasu-sama. Those golems do not match any model used by the World Security Guard.]
"Hrm. But they could be a new model, could they not?"
[No. If anything, those are what one would call an old-model golem.]
"What did you say?"
At those words, Guillermo Marukitasu reflexively turned his head.
[Have you forgotten? Those bear a striking resemblance to the golems of Deus Ex Machina.]
"Mmm..."
Back when Guillermo Marukitasu used the name Golbart Marukitasu, he had spent some time at Avalon.
During that period, he’d had the chance to attend a lecture by Deus Ex Machina and had seen the golems under the man's command. He had shared that information with his assistant automata as well.
"...I remember now. But..."
Guillermo Marukitasu glared at the screen.
"More than a hundred and fifty years have passed since then. Just who exactly is this Deus Ex Machina?"
Completely ignoring his own circumstances, Guillermo Marukitasu voiced his bewilderment.