1:00 PM.
Those involved—Jin, Reiko, Maquina III, Rei, Elena, Arietta, Wattes, Eira, Kachea, Groma, Sion, Marikka, Lordtoss, Vita, Ludmila, and Hanako—had gathered in Tomax Bartman’s office. Hope and Urgan remained stationed at the airport with the Hurricane, just in case.
Illumina and four other executives were also present.
Three of the discovered magi-devices and Magi Machines had been brought into the room. There were only three because what Elena had discovered in the corner of the airfield was a magic circle; a precise copy of it lay on the table instead.
"Now then, which one should we analyze first?" Maquina III asked.
"Any of them will do, but this is the one that concerns me most."
Jin pointed to the magi-device discovered inside Chief Administrator Tomax Bartman’s desk.
"Though, even without a deep analysis, it’s clear this is essentially a listening device."
While Tomax and the executives looked on in shock at Jin’s assertion, Maquina III and Elena merely gave silent, knowing nods.
"But I won't know the specifics until I dig into it....'Analyze.' 'Inspection.' 'Decompile.'"
Jin performed the analysis with practiced ease. Tomax and his staff watched, eyes wide at his sheer proficiency.
"...I see."
Having decompiled the details, Jin began his explanation.
"This is definitely a listening device. However, it doesn't transmit information constantly. Instead, it seems to record data, compress it, and then send it all at once in a burst."
"I beg your pardon?"
Tomax, the executives, and the trio of students—Eira and the others—didn't seem to follow the technical jargon.
"In short, it packs the recorded contents into a bundle and fires them off to the recipient in a split second," Maquina III added. Even then, it was hard to tell if the explanation had landed.
"In other words, while the recording function is always active, the transmissions are only made occasionally, and only for a very brief duration?" Tomax Bartman asked, trying to clarify his understanding. Jin and Maquina both nodded in confirmation.
"Since when... no, that’s a foolish question. Since Graham Derby was the one who planted it, it must have been here for at least three years."
"That means almost everything discussed in this room for the last few years is known to the enemy," one of the executives groaned, his face twisting into a sour grimace.
"That’s the reality of it..."
Jin sighed, then moved on. "Now, let’s look at the next one."
He began analyzing the Magi Machine they had found. As the results came in, Jin turned pale.
"Wh-What is it!?" Kachea blurted out, unable to stay silent as she saw Jin’s color drain.
"...It’s a remote-controlled bomb."
"What!?"
Jin moved quickly to disassemble the device.
"This was a complete oversight on my part. To think it might have detonated in response to the pulse from my Modulation Commander... it makes my skin crawl. I am deeply sorry."
Jin bowed his head. He was filled with regret. Somewhere in his heart, he had allowed hubris to take root, and he had taken the situation far too lightly.
"Of course, even for a bomb, it isn't something that triggers easily. It requires at least three stages of authorization to detonate. Even so, it was wrong of me to use the Modulation Commander without considering the possibility of hidden traps."
"No, no, Jin-dono. The responsibility for that lies with me," Chief Administrator Tomax Bartman interrupted. "I was the one who ultimately requested it of you. If there is blame to be assigned, I must be the one to take it."
"I think everyone in this room bears some responsibility for not considering that possibility, Jin," Sion added, looking down slightly as she spoke to comfort him.
Next, they turned their attention to the device found by the Maquina Golem. It had been disguised as a streetlamp; while the pole was a hollow shell, a mysterious Magi Machine had been tucked away inside the lighting fixture.
"...They’ve hidden something truly heinous here." Jin’s voice simmered with anger as he gave his report. "This is a Magi Machine designed for gradual brainwashing."
"Heavens!"
"The effect is very subtle. You probably wouldn't notice anything unless you were exposed to it for a long period, but it is a concentrated mass of pure malice," Jin said, his voice dripping with disgust. "And because of this, the culprit is clear. There’s no doubt the enemy is the Magic Federation."
The device was specifically calibrated to foster a sense of devotion toward the Magic Federation.
"It’s not extremely powerful, and the suggestion isn't radical. Even so, we cannot let this stand."
"Precisely," Tomax Bartman asserted with iron resolve.
"Finally, regarding this magic circle—it is definitely a teleportation circle. However, this section at the edge is damaged, so it wouldn't have functioned properly."
Elena’s transcription was flawless, including the minute defects in the circle's design.
"The golem attack from the other day was likely intended to hit the airfield as well. It seems we were simply lucky that this one was broken," Tomax noted, and the executives shared a collective sigh of relief.
"Now, as for our next move..."
The group had finished a late lunch of sandwiches and fruit juice and was now resuming their strategy meeting.
"There was a slight miscalculation," Jin began, "but since we found the magi-devices we were looking for, we’ll stick to the original plan."
"Jin-dono, what plan is that?" Tomax asked. Since they hadn't had time for a full briefing earlier, the administration staff was still catching up. They had assumed the operation was simply to find the hidden devices.
"We aren't just finding them. We’re going to use them to find the enemy," Jin explained. "This communication device is set to trigger periodically. Fortunately, it’s scheduled to activate for about 0.1 seconds at midnight tonight to send its data."
Jin explained that they would replace the recorded data with meaningless noise while simultaneously tracing the signal back to the receiver.
"I... I see..."
"But can it really go that smoothly? To catch a signal that only lasts a tenth of a second..."
Jin nodded with absolute confidence. "It will be fine. Leave it to me."
He intended to relay the data to Hourai Island and use the magi-radar there to pinpoint the recipient.
The bomb was already neutralized. The brainwashing device was no longer a threat. Orders had been given to erase the magic circle. The "exposure" operation had been a resounding success.
The Type 3 Emergency was officially lifted, and a sense of normalcy began to return to Avalon.
"...I’ve really been reminded just how far outside the norm Jin is," Eira remarked to Kachea and Groma after they had returned to their quarters.
"I see..." Groma let out a long, quiet sigh. "A rematch... what a joke. It was presumptuous of me to even think of him as a rival. Eventually, I’ll have to ask him to take me under his wing as a student."
Having truly measured the gap in their abilities, Groma renewed his vow to dedicate himself heart and soul to his golem research.