08-14 Ultimatum
The furious Jin sent orders to the Ninja Unit through Reiko.
“Throw the neutralized people outside.”
“Once there’s no one inside contact me.”
“Goodbye.”
Even Elm and Ash who had escorted Elsa once more headed towards the stronghold.
Left behind were Jin, Elsa, Reiko, Dahlia, and Canna.
“Jin-kun, what were those golems?”
Elsa wanted to know and she asked.
“They’re the SP, nickname Ninja Unit.”
“Ninja Unit?”
Apparently she did not know what ninjas were.
“Yeah. Basically, they’re golems that protect me usually without showing themselves.”
For now, he explained it like that.
“When did you make them?”
“Eh? Hmm, after we left Egelia Kingdom’s royal castle, I think.”
“Eh? Where? I didn’t see you build them anywhere.”
For a moment Jin hesitated about what to say, but then made up his mind.
“On Hourai Island.”
“Hourai Island? Not Kunlun Island?”
“Yeah. Once all this has been finished I’ll explain it to you properly, so please hold on for a bit longer.”
Jin appeased Elsa’s questions.
“Father, report from Ash. Excluding their leader, everyone has been successfully neutralized. Currently they’re being carried out.”
“Alright, got a good feeling about this.”
Then Jin looked at Elsa and,
“I’ll now be going to teach a lesson to the guy who hurt you, Elsa. Please wait here. Dahlia and Canna will protect you.”
He said and began to walk. Elsa gripped the sleeve of his coat.
“Wait. Take me with you.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
She would return into the place she had only just escaped from, so Jin was worried about her.
“If it’s with Jin-kun I’ll be alright. …More importantly, don’t leave me alone.”
She had frightened eyes like a small puppy. Jin sensed Elsa’s uneasiness and nodded.
“Alright, let’s go together.”
Jin said and held out his hand which Elsa then took and stood up.
“Reiko, Dahlia, Canna, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Jin began walking accompanied by three golems.
“[Light Ball].”
He created a ball of light which floated midair. The Light Ball would light the way until the Magic Energy it was charged with depleted. He created ten of them and had them float around the stronghold. The area was then as bright as day.
“Barrier.”
Furthermore he deployed a Magic Barrier that enveloped Elsa and himself. They walked on without pausing and set foot inside the stronghold.
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens I’ll protect you, Elsa.”
“…Mm.”
They walked inside the unmanned stronghold, heading towards the second floor. There lie the living room cum office of Purcell who called himself the head of the eighth subdivision of the Unifilers, Purcell.
While walking, Jin heard the general details from Elsa.
“Open the door.”
Jin said, and Canna who was following him went ahead and kicked in the door. The ornamental door looked heavy, yet it was blown away like leaves in the wind.
“W-who is it?”
A panicked voice. If you looked, you could see a slim man dressed in white robes in the corner of the room. He was protected by two pitch-black golems on both sides, while he himself could be seen holding an excessively ornamented long cane.
“…Purcell.”
Jin didn’t miss the fear that ran through Elsa’s eyes when she saw the man.
“So you’re the branch head?”
“T-that’s right. The branch head of the eighth subdivision of the Unifilers, Purcell Marces D’Canagerion! Y-you are?”
Jin grinned broadly and said,
“I’m that Nidou Jin you’re so interested in.”
Hearing that, Purcell’s face was filled with mixed feelings.
“I-I see! I see that taking Miss Randol hostage was effective indeed, eh? Co-come now, pledge allegiance to us Unifilers!”
Purcell said with a pompous attitude. However,
“Don’t screw around.”
Jin said with a voice so cold that Elsa next to him couldn’t believe her ears.
“I didn’t particularly care whatever you called yourselves, or whatever you planned, as long as you didn’t drag me into it.”
After Jin’s remark Elsa couldn’t stop herself from looking Jin in the face.
“But, this time is unacceptable. You kidnapped Elsa. You made her cry. You hurt Elsa’s nanny. You are…My enemies.”
Elsa had never seen Jin with a face this grim. But she didn’t think it scary in the slightest. Rather, it made Elsa feel relieved. As long as she was protected by this person, she wouldn’t have to fear anything. That’s how she thought.
“I’ll spare only your lives. Go back and tell that to your comrades. If you make any more moves on my friends, that day will be the day Unifilers get destroyed.”
“Y-you must be joking, eh? You think you can take on us Unifilers by yourself?”
Even this late in the game, Purcell acted tough.
In contrast to Purcell, Jin put her hand on Elsa’s shoulder and,
“By myself? I’m not by myself, am I? I’ve got companions I can trust, and friends I must protect.”
He said, then looked at Reiko, Dahlia, Canna, and said,
“I’ve also got children I can rely on.”
At those words Dahlia and Canna took a step forward. Purcell looked at the two golems that had approximately the same build as Elsa and,
“Y-you were a Magi Craftsman, right eh? You think those dainty golems can bring down my imperial guards?”
He said, and then to the pitch-black golems on his sides,
“Repel them!”
Purcell gave the order. Jin merely said,
“It’s okay to use your full power.”
The two golems understood that alone, and in an instant grabbed the pitch-black golems from behind, and poured on an electric shock of 10,000,000 volts.
It wasn’t the stun mode that wouldn’t give humans permanent damage, but mighty lightning-type magic. Under that might the golems’ exteriors partially melted, and through the created hole jumped in and easily pierced the golems’ Control Cores, destroying them.
The characteristic smell of ozone wafted in the room, the pitch-black golems collapsed at nearly the same time, and as their metal bodies hit the stone floor there was a high-pitched sound.
“E-eeek!”
Seeing that, Purcell wasn’t able to stand up due to his fear. But Jin gave him the final blow.
“If that’s what happens to golems, what would happen to a person? Dahlia.”
“Yes, let’s try it out.”
“Eeek! Eeeeaaaaaah!”
Dahlia simply came closer to him and Purcell fainted. Foam came out of his mouth and the pants he was wearing got wet. Apparently he peed his pants.
Seeing that, Jin sighed and turned to look at Elsa next to him.
“How about that? Do you feel a bit better?”
He said. Elsa smiled just a bit and nodded,
“Mm. Thanks.”
She replied.
Jin looked at Purcell who had wet his pants and looked like he had no other choice as he gave orders.
“Ah, that’s disgusting. Dahlia, drag him along as we go out, but take care that you don’t touch his wet clothes.
“Yes, Chief.”
Then Dahlia grabbed Purcell by the collar and dragged him out of the stronghold. Jin and Elsa went ahead of her. Because they didn’t want to walk through a hallway dripping with urine.
Outside the fortress the Light Balls Jin had lit were still floating.
Some of the black-masked men who were gathered in a bundle were groaning. It appeared that they would wake up soon.
Jin took out a Magi Crystal from his pocket and got closer to the unconscious Purcell. Then,
“[Transfer Info Level 6].”
He copied the information relating to the Unifilers. By analyzing this he would surely get to know all sorts of things about the Unifilers.
“Hey, wake up. I said wake up.”
“U…uuuhh…”
Jin called out multiple times to Purcell who had been thrown down at his feet, and finally he appeared to have woken up.
Because he had crashed into things all around while being dragged, his robe was worn out and his cloak too was torn out in places.
“So you’re finally awake.”
“Eek!”
Realizing that Jin was looking down him, Purcell drew back from fear.
“Good grief, so they mean people like you when they speak of an ass in the lion’s skin.”
While saying so, Jin looked Reiko who was waiting nearby in the face. Just that was enough for Reiko to understand and,
“Father, the units from Sky-71 to Sky-75 are in the skies, ready for your command.”
She replied.
Jin turned to face Purcell and the black-masked men who had woken up and,
“Listen, withdraw from your foolish ambition of something like unifying the continent. This is a warning. There won’t be a second one.”
He told them. The men listened to him silently.
Next Jin gave a short indication.
“Reiko.”
After receiving that, Reiko gave instructions through her ManaCom to the high-altitude Air Force.
Immediately afterwards, pillars of light poured down. There were ten of them. It goes without saying that they were [Laser] lights.
Every plane beamed at maximum power from both of their installed cannons. The energy stimulated the Ether in the atmosphere, giving the technically invisible light rays visible traces.
Exposed to ten laser beams, in an instant the granite composing the stronghold evaporated. Because the light came from flying vehicles, moving the beams’ target point took less than a second.
As a result, in an instant a little over 70 percent of the stronghold had evaporated into nothingness.
“Wha-whawha–wh…”
Starting with Purcell, the conscious black-masked men became frozen with fear en masse.
“Listen, this is final. ‘Do. Not. Get. Involved. With. Us.'”
“Y-yeeees!”
This time everyone replied together.
Jin gave their miserable state one look and,
“Elsa, will this do? I could also kill them all but… That’s a little much, no?”
He asked of Elsa who was by him watching.
Elsa suddenly nodded.
“Mm. This, will do.”
Seeing that, Jin said,
“Alright, well, let’s go.”
He then gave a pat on Elsa’s shoulder and they began walking slowly. The moon was shining in the middle of the sky.