Shortly after 7:00 AM on January 1, 3900, Jin and his companions watched the first sunrise of the year.
"We offer a prayer to the first sunrise to wish for health and safety throughout the year," Jin explained.
"What a fascinating custom..."
Groma expressed his admiration, but as he had no particular interest in folklore or cultural anthropology, he didn't press for further details.
"Well then, shall we head back for some osechi?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The group returned to the House on Hourai Island. After celebrating the New Year with Japanese sake in place of otoso, they set their chopsticks to the festive osechi cuisine.
"Oh, there are some nostalgic things here."
For Groma, who hailed from Fusou Island, many of the dishes were familiar.
"These kuromame bring back memories..."
They were simmered black soybeans. Since the skins of soybeans are delicate, the cooking process required extreme care. A single mistake could cause the skins to wrinkle, or in the worst-case scenario, peel off entirely.
"So sweet! And delicious!"
"Haha, I'm glad you like them."
The beans were the result of painstaking effort by Perido and her team. Hearing them praised made Jin feel a sense of quiet pride.
Next came a demonstration of kite flying. They used the Flexible Kites Jin had once crafted in Moft Village.
"Oh, those kites really catch the wind!" Eira exclaimed in admiration. The kites she was familiar with were all diamond-shaped.
"I see, so this kind of shape works too..." Groma noted, equally impressed.
(I suppose those kites never did spread beyond Moft Village...) Jin thought, feeling a touch of disappointment.
Kite flying was followed by hanetsuki, which was mostly played by the women. Once they were given a quick lesson, everyone began to handle the game quite skillfully.
The hagoita paddles were, of course, handcrafted by Jin. He had provided specialized shuttlecocks with five feathers to ensure they flew slowly—a considerate gesture, as the standard three-feathered ones flew much faster and would have been difficult for beginners.
Eira played against Kachea. Surprisingly, the two were evenly matched. However, Jin felt that hanetsuki was less about winning or losing and more about the enjoyment of the rhythmic back-and-forth.
Sion played against Marikka, while Ludmila played against Vita. As an extra match, Hanako and Reiko joined in as well. They were careful to restrain their strength; otherwise, the shuttlecock would have been obliterated instantly.
Jin briefly regretted not having made furisode kimonos for the occasion, but it was far too late for that now.
Meanwhile, Jin, Lordtoss, and Groma held a competition with spinning tops. Rather than a "battling" style, they competed to see whose top would spin the longest. Jin, having meticulously balanced his top beforehand, managed to edge out Lordtoss by a narrow margin.
New Year's Day on Hourai Island continued to pass in peace.
＊ ＊ ＊
Winding back the clock slightly, across a three-and-a-half-hour time difference... it was 12:30 AM local time.
In the dead of night, Avalon was in the middle of a frantic struggle against the Pseudo-Gigas. The creatures had reportedly emerged from four different warehouses.
"They used timers to trigger this during the New Year's holiday, specifically targeting the window when security is light," Maquina III analyzed.
In the midst of the crisis, a secret communication from Laojun reached the Mentor.
(Message to Mentor. Regarding the strategy for the Pseudo-Gigas: They cannot absorb mana through a magic barrier. You must deliver physical attacks through a magic barrier. Furthermore, activate a Magic Canceller for a fraction of a second; once they are paralyzed, target and destroy the magic core.)
In the past, when the Titan had faced two Gigas during the final battle with the Unifilar, it had struck them while maintaining a solid barrier on its fists. In Rei's case, since she could focus her attacks with even greater precision than a Titan, a magic barrier was chosen over a solid one.
The Mentor found the logic sound. Moreover, the final instruction was a revelation. A Magic Canceller forcibly reverted mana back into free ether. Even a Pseudo-Gigas would be unable to escape its effects.
The Mentor immediately relayed the orders to Squire Rei.
"Understood," Rei replied briefly, instantly shrouding herself in a magic barrier.
She began with a high-speed ramming attack. Possessing power that far exceeded the Land squad on Hourai Island, Rei's tackle sent the Pseudo-Gigas flying, clearing it away from the building housing the administrator's office.
It wasn't enough to destroy it, however. Rei then activated her internal Magic Canceller.
The movements of the Pseudo-Gigas ceased instantly. Aiming for that split-second window, Rei's sword pierced the creature's chest. It struck true, shattering the magic core.
The Pseudo-Gigas lost the ability to maintain its form and collapsed into a mere heap of rock and metal. Since the Magic Canceller had only been active for about half a second, Tomax and the others didn't even notice it. To their eyes, it appeared that Rei had defeated the enemy with nothing but a tackle and a sword strike.
"Well done, Rei! It seems there are Pseudo-Gigas rampaging in three other locations. Deal with them immediately!"
"Yes!"
After being commended by Maquina III, Rei received her next orders. With a sharp nod, she vanished in the blink of an eye. Ten minutes later, she returned.
"Master Maquina, the subjugation of the Pseudo-Gigas is complete."
"Good work."
Tomax and the other executives let out heavy sighs of relief. However, the chaos was far from over.
<Unidentified magic circle activated. Please be advised.>
Arthur, the magi-brain managing Avalon, issued a new alert. Looking out, they saw a faintly glowing magic circle rising from the green space quite close to where Tomax and his team were standing.
"That... was it buried under the soil of the park!?"
It seemed the circle had been installed covertly and covered with earth long ago.
"For someone to have pulled this off... was it really Graham Derby's doing!?" Tomax Bartman fumed, but Maquina III moved to calm him.
"Lord Tomax, this is no time for speculation. That is a teleportation magic circle. Something... is coming!"
Maquina III reached that conclusion after analyzing the magi-formula surging through the circle. And just as he predicted, something emerged from the teleportation light.
"A giant golem!?" someone screamed.
The entity sent via the teleportation circle was a massive golem, standing at least fifteen meters tall.
(Its size is comparable to a Titan... but it looks significantly heavier. Its movements are sluggish. Its strength... hmph, lacking.)
Through Maquina III's sensors, the Mentor and Laojun reached their assessment.
(Rei should be able to handle this alone.)
The giant golem Titan was a masterpiece Jin had perfected through endless trial and error. Its size, weight, power, speed, and precision were all balanced at an elite level. In contrast, the giant golem that had just appeared was merely large and cumbersome. While it seemed to have a fair amount of raw power, it appeared to have no capacity for precise movement.
"Rei, aim for the legs first!" Maquina III commanded.
Squire Rei switched her magi-adamantite short sword to vibration sword mode and lunged forward.