"Ooh, that's pretty impressive."
Observing the battle from Hourai Island, Jin couldn't help but voice his admiration.
The focused, intense heat ray fired by the Neo-Magias flagship collided with dust and air molecules in the atmosphere, converting into visible light.
In other words, a faint reddish streak of light was clearly visible.
However, the special cruiser Azusa—or rather, Azusa's solid barrier—caught it completely.
"Hmm, I should have made a barrier that reflects attacks, too."
Had he done so, they would have been astonished to see their own attack turned back against them, Jin mused.
For now, though, dealing with Neo-Magias came first.
"Laojun, are the preparations to capture the five 'people' and Larva ready?"
"Yes, My Lord."
"Good. And what about seizing those three ships?"
"They are complete."
"Oh, done already?...How are you going to handle it?"
"Yes, My Lord. After sinking them, we will use an ether eliminator to disable the sailor golems, magi-devices, and Magi Machines. Then we will have the Mermaid unit dismantle them before retrieving the parts here via the Warp Gate."
"I see. Sounds like a plan."
At this point, Reinhard chimed in.
"Wouldn't it be better to inform Avalon as well?"
"Yes, Reinhard-san. We plan to send a report under the name of Deus Ex Machina," Laojun replied. "Furthermore, I believe we could hand over the ships found in the Pandor Continent ruins to Avalon."
"Oh, I see."
The sunken ships would go to Hourai Island.
The discovered ships would go to Avalon.
That way, no one would have any grounds to complain.
"After all, no one would ever suspect we're dismantling sunken ships and turning them back into raw materials..."
As Jin said this, Saki chuckled as well.
"Kufu, that's certainly true."
Reinhard added, "The ships found in the ruins have nothing to do with the Four Principalities anyway, so having Deus Ex Machina seize them and place them under Avalon's management should be perfectly fine."
He continued, "In fact, there's even the option of modifying those ruins to turn them into Avalon's base on the Pandor Continent."
"We'll need to discuss that carefully....Well then, shall we move on to the counterattack?"
"Grrr, to think even the special cannon had no effect..."
"Terrifying, Deus Ex Machina!"
"No! If we keep up the assault, even they won't be able to keep defending forever!"
Larva cast a cold gaze at the agitated five "people."
(...They are failures after all. Giving them bodies really was a mistake....Perhaps it's best to abandon them...)
At that moment, a shockwave shuddered through the hull.
"W-What was that?!"
"...It seems to be an attack from the enemy!"
"Wh-What did you say?!"
Aboard the Aristotle floating in the sky, the Duke of the Jagus Principality and his retainers watched the three-on-four battle intently.
"Oh!"
"What an unusual weapon."
It was the heat ray weapon that the Neo-Magias side called a "special cannon" and Jin's group dubbed the "Heat Ray Convergence Cannon."
"...Jin-dono, what on earth is that? Do you know?" Minister of Military Affairs Buena Haiti asked Jin D.
"I have a general idea....It's a weapon that gathers multiple Heat spells and focuses them into a single beam."
"Its temperature is likely no less than 3,000 degrees Celsius."
Jin D gave a clear explanation, and Deus Ex Machina added supplementary details.
"3,000 degrees... Most metals would melt at that temperature. Wood would ignite in an instant..."
Imagining its destructive power, technical officer Roa Temp shuddered in fear.
"Indeed. However, once you block it, it poses no threat whatsoever," Jin D said nonchalantly.
There were other ways to handle it, too.
"Dissolute" occurs when heat raises an object's temperature above its melting point, loosening its molecular bonds and turning a solid into a liquid.
In other words, if one strengthens the molecular bonds through some method, the melting point of the substance can be raised.
Everything on Hourai Island's side had undergone magi-craft treatments such as Toughening, Strengthen, and Stabilize, making them vastly more resistant to heat.
Though, of course, Jin D saw no need to explain all that.
"They seemed to believe they could pick us off one by one, but let us teach them their place."
Deus Ex Machina spoke coldly.
"Permission to bombard granted. Fire!"
The battleship Hotaka Kai fired its No. 1 main gun near the bow. It was a magi-cannon.
An enhanced version of a railgun, it fired artillery shells rather than spheres. Its muzzle velocity reached Mach 80, with a meticulously chosen caliber of 46 centimeters.
This time, the projectile was an armor-piercing shell. It boasted an adamantite outer casing, granting it superior penetrating power.
Three of these rounds were fired in the opening volley.
Ordinary armor-piercing shells might ricochet depending on the angle of impact, but these shells, driven by the sheer kinetic energy of Mach 80 velocity, punched clean through the hull regardless of angle.
"G-Gwaaaah!"
"Wh-What tremendous power!"
Aboard the flagship that had taken the three hits, the five "people" were thrown into a panic.
After all, one shell had torn away the top of the bridge, another had blasted the special cannon to smithereens, and the last had punched a hole straight through the vessel from stern to bow. Since it struck above the waterline, it would not cause immediate flooding, but the sheer threat was undeniable.
"Wh-Wh-What should we do?!"
"Even if you ask, there's nothing we can do!"
(...)
Larva continued to watch the flustered five "people" with cold eyes.
(...It's hopeless. They've panicked. They are far too swayed by emotion to make rational decisions. Failures after all.)
With that, Larva slipped away toward the room containing the magic circle to ensure a swift escape at any moment. The panicked five "people" failed to notice.
Once more... this time, the secondary guns of the battleship Hotaka Kai opened fire.
The secondary guns fired 30-centimeter lasers, possessing even greater penetration than the armor-piercing shells.
Three new puncture holes were blasted into the Neo-Magias flagship.
All three were right at the waterline.
And then came the third barrage.
"U-Uwaaaah!"
"W-We're done for!!"
Another volley of armor-piercing shells struck.
This time, holes were punched into the hull below the waterline, and seawater began rushing in.
As the vessel began to sink, water also poured through the holes previously torn above the waterline.
"...This ship is finished!"
"R-Run!"
"Where is Larva?!"
"H-He's gone?!"
"What?!"
The five "people" descended into utter chaos.
And slowly, the Neo-Magias flagship began to list...