Having evacuated the delegation of the Jagus Principality to the Aristotle aboard the Taube, Jin D and Deus Ex Machina stood ready.
"Now we have no more dead weight."
"We can cut loose to our hearts' content."
Jin D and Maquina exchanged words of mutual resolve.
Then, not Jin D, but Jin directly from Hourai Island issued orders to Reiko. With flesh-and-blood humans out of the way, there was no longer any need for restraint.
"Reiko, go at thirty percent!"
At the same time, he directed Squire Rei:
"Rei, go all out!"
With these orders, the two accelerated even further.
With her black hair streaming behind her, Reiko darted forward. Her figure was the very embodiment of the Jet-black Destruction Princess.
Squire Rei also displayed movements like a gale. Blue-silver hair, ice-blue eyes. Describing her as "Blue Lightning" would indeed be fitting.
"Wh-What?!"
"Guh...!"
The members of Neo-Magias were astonished by Reiko and Rei, who paid no heed to their numerical disadvantage.
Of the one hundred sailor golems and one hundred combat golems deployed, barely twenty percent remained standing.
"At this rate, it will hinder the operation of the ship."
"However, we cannot ease our attacks..."
Zveid and Katol voiced their concerns, but Suenk expressed alarm:
"If we do that, won't those two monster automata sink this vessel?"
Then Eas proposed:
"In that case, how about we ease our attacks just a little? Wouldn't they retreat as well?"
"I see, it is worth a try....If we are going to do it, we must hurry."
Just then, the eighty-fourth sailor golem and the eighty-first combat golem were blown away.
"Cease attacks and encircle them at a distance!"
With this order, the deck grew a bit quieter.
"...Hm, the attacks have stopped."
"Taking a wait-and-see approach, perhaps?"
Jin D and Maquina assessed the situation, held a swift consultation, and aligned their intentions.
"Shall we withdraw?"
"Indeed."
Now they could have the Taube come pick them up.
And so, the two summoned the Taube they had used upon their arrival.
"Oh, look, a success! It seems they are withdrawing!"
"It worked like a charm!"
"We drove them off splendidly!"
The five made merry. Larva alone, however, watched them with cold eyes.
"Alright, take aim and fire upon that descending aircraft or airship or whatever it is!" Eas shouted.
"Oh, indeed! Now is our chance to attack!"
"With a craft that looks so bereft of defenses, we can destroy it!"
"Hurry! Before it puts distance between us!!"
Zveid, Drys, and Katol also backed Eas's opinion.
"Before that, wouldn't it be better to direct your attention to the fact that we are surrounded? Besides, what will you gain by shooting down their means of withdrawal...?"
Suenk alone seemed to grasp the current situation.
Larva, however, did not intervene in the slightest.
Whether intending to let them do as they pleased, or harboring some other scheme...
On Hourai Island, they were also able to observe those five and Larva.
In addition, since Jin D had left behind an ultra-compact manacam, they were now able to pick up audio as well.
"Hmm, those fellows... their opinions are completely uncoordinated, or rather..."
"They are exceedingly human-like."
Jin and Reinhard remarked in exasperation.
Then, Laojun posed a question to Jin:
"My Lord, one moment they possess the classification to retreat upon seeing a disadvantage, the next they show the boldness to try to ensnare us in a trap, yet they act on whim and forget the looming danger before them... Does any condition come to mind from these symptoms?"
"Eh?...Hmm, I see... 'Thought circuit integration failure,' is it...?"
"Thought circuit integration failure" was a type of defect in a control core.
To put it in human terms, one might describe it as an extreme case of being haphazard or temperamental.
The central processing function that coordinates thinking components such as emotion, logic, and memory is too low, making parallel processing impossible, which consequently leads to erratic and inconsistent behavior.
"...I've never seen such a symptom before, so I had even forgotten its existence," Jin said.
"That stands to reason. There is no way you would make such shoddy work, Jin....Even I have never built such a thing," Reinhard agreed.
"Kufu, so that means those five are defective products, does it?"
Saki threw in a direct, straightforward question.
"Well, that's what it amounts to. Why on earth is Larva following such people?"
As far as Jin could see, Larva did not suffer from thought circuit integration failure.
"Isn't it the other way around? Perhaps Larva is manipulating those five?" Reinhard suggested.
"Hmm, that's possible... But if so, why let them run so wild?"
He could at least scold them a little, Jin voiced his doubt.
In response to that doubt, Laojun offered a deduction:
"My Lord, could it be that an experiment is being conducted?"
"Ah, that possibility exists, does it?"
Jin also found that convincing.
"If so, what would be the purpose of the experiment?"
If it was an experiment, there had to be an objective, and Jin noted that he had no clue what that might be.
"Yeah, I haven't the faintest idea either."
"Kufu, same here."
Reinhard and Saki threw up their hands as well.
And Laojun concluded:
"It seems we require a bit more information to make a judgment."