Chapter 464: Neutralization

It seemed that in the system of the Celuroa Kingdom, those who were close to certain powerful people were indeed above the law.

The siblings standing in front of them were the two best examples of that.

“This isn’t just old-fashioned… No, this is outright despotism!”

Jin realized that this wasn’t a country with a system based on the rule of law.

“So this is why Stearleana had wanted to flee this country…”

“Whatever! Just hand over the knife!”

The Selfish Princess shouted her command, and…

“Come, Elsa, come with me!”

The Selfish Prince also went on with his nonsense.

“Brother Jin…”

After realizing that the disheartened Elsa’s eyes were glimmering, Jin asked…

“Have they done anything to you?”

To which Elsa nodded silently. That was good enough for Jin.

“Stearleana, I know you’ve gone to great lengths to invite us today, but I think we’ve seen enough, right?”

Stearleana could feel Jin’s anger, but nodded strongly because she herself was already very offended.

“I’ve already had it with you people!”

She carelessly voiced out her anger, her utter disgust with the Celuroa Kingdom all over her face.

“Big brother, are they bad people?”

“That’s right. They’re bothering others for their own convenience.”

“Granny always tells me that it’s a bad thing to be a nuisance to other people.”

“That’s right. Those two are complete fools who don’t even know that. You should never be like them. Okay, Hanna?”

“Yeah! I’m a good girl!”

Jin stroked Hanna’s head in response to her cheerful reply.

Her bright spirit caused Elsa and Saki to unconsciously relax the grit on their teeth.

However, the Selfish Siblings weren’t finished.

“…I’m the one who has had it with the likes of you. You’ve thrown enough slander at us. That’s a crime punishable by death!”

“Though you might be able to save your lives if you cry and ask for forgiveness, hmm?”

Jin was growing tired of their antics.

“…Give me a break. How many people have you forced to cry with that kind of excuse?”

“Hmph! The people that live here are our property, and we can do whatever we want with them!”

Their manner of speaking had taken Jin to the limits of his patience. Sensing his anger, Reiko was already prepared for a fight.

“Father, can I teach these two fools a lesson in reality?”

Reiko was a little angry because Edgar, who she thought of as her cousin, had been hurt.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, it’s a shame you have to serve such foolish masters. Reiko, neutralize them all.”

Jin’s permission had been granted. It could be said that ordering her to “neutralize them” instead of “destroy them” had been an act of mercy.

“H-How impertinent! Go! Tear that piece of junk apart!”

The ten automata guards that were under the Selfish Prince’s command rushed towards Reiko all at once.

Reiko did nothing. She just stood there, waiting.

One of the guards grabbed her by the torso while another one held her by the head. The remaining eight guards grabbed her arms and legs in pairs.

“Wahaha! How do you like that! Now you can’t do anything anymore! Tear her apart!”

“…No matter where I look at you from, you’re just a disgusting brat.”

Jin stared at Albert with cold eyes. Elsa, Hanna, Saki, and Stearleana all nestled close to him.

Elsa’s Covert Units turned invisible once again, vanishing from sight, but still remaining close by and guarding the surroundings. The same was true for Jin and Hannah’s own Covert Units.

“Hmph, you’re nothing but a sore loser. …Come on! Tear her apart!”

In response to their master’s command, the ten automata guards put their strength into it… But nothing happened.

“What’s the matter? There’s no need for you to be holding anything back, you know?”

Reiko, who should have been torn limb from limb, remained calm.

“…Is that all the strength you have? I’ll be making my move, then. Okay?”

Reiko twisted her body. That simple motion was enough to shake off all ten of the automata guards that were restraining her.

“W-What!?”

Both Jin and Reiko had an idea of ??the automata guards’ potential. They could tell by looking at the output of their ether converters, ether drivers, or mana drivers.

They had confronted a number of golems and automata in the past, including some very strong enemies, but these automata guards seemed to be leaning towards the weak side.

Though it’s a bad example, if Reiko were to kick Edgar, he would disappear without a trace. And she would only have to use about 40 percent of her power to do that.

“These automata guards seem to be on the same level as Edgar in terms of strength.”

Unlike golems, power was a secondary thing for automatas, since they were intended to resemble humans.

“Ether Converter output is now 30 percent.”

An output of 20 percent seemed to be enough, but just to play it safe, Reiko set it to 30 percent before going on the offensive.

The weak spot of an automata is, generally speaking, the head.

Since the priority is for them to resemble a human being, their neck section would usually give the impression of not being sturdy enough, and the only way for them to obtain visual information is through their two eyes.

Because of these two reasons, attacking an automata on the neck would be an effective way to neutralize them.

Many combat-oriented golems wouldn’t even have a neck for this very reason, but automata were different.

“Neck Throw.”

While jumping over her opponent’s head from the front as if she had pole-vaulted over it, Reiko grabbed it by the head, and as she landed behind it, twisted her body, throwing it in a shoulder-throw style.

If she were to do this against a human, their neck would snap right there. The same was true for automata. After having its head facing a direction it wasn’t designed to, the first automata guard quickly ceased functioning.

Normally, whenever visual information disappears, that is, whenever they become unable to see, an automata would make an emergency stop to prevent the dangers of running around blindly.

However, her second opponent, now aware of what her attack could do, pulled out its sword and put up her shield.

“Then…”

Reiko effortlessly grabbed the protruding shield and twisted it like a steering wheel. Due to Reiko’s power, the posture of the automata guard collapsed easily.

Without a moment’s delay, she grabbed that arm and slammed it against the ground with an “Arm Throw”. After toppling it over and leaving it laying upwards on the floor, Reiko kicked the second automata’s head, smashing its cranium and causing the rest of its body to stop moving.

The entire fight until that point had lasted about ten seconds in total.

The remaining eight automata guards rushed at her all at once. Reiko jumped forward.

She avoided being surrounded by striking one of her attackers with a knee straight in the face. Naturally, that single automata guard was completely incapacitated as well as a result.

“Let’s see how this works here. Erase.”

It was one of the Domination Magic spells that had once been developed by the Unifiers. It could not be prevented without the shield structure that Jin had developed.

As a result, three more automata guards instantly ceased functioning as all of the information stored in their Control Core was completely wiped clean.

The Selfish Siblings stood in complete shock and astonishment after seeing how more than half of the automata guards they had sent forth had already been so easily dealt with.

At that very moment, another one was incapacitated. Three more remained.

“Her speed is just on a completely different level.”

Jin and his companions were watching Reiko’s fighting behavior with a deep sense of relief. She had been able to reduce the number of automata guards from 10 to 3 in less than 30 seconds.

“Brother! My automata guards will also fight! …Go! Attack those guys!”

The Selfish Princess Beatrix ordered her own automata guards to attack Jin and his companions.

However, Jin had already deployed a barrier. It wasn’t something that an automata guard could break.

“Why? Why can’t you catch them?”

The automata guards were unable to get past the barrier, which stood 30 cm in front of Jin and the others. Their punches and kicks were blocked, and not even their swords were able to put a dent on it.

“…How troublesome.”

The fact that they had pulled out their swords meant that they had a clear intent to kill.

“You bastards!”

Jin was even more angry at how even Hanna ended up being involved in this situation. He had initially thought to let his Covert Unit take care of them, but then he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Laser.”

Light extended from Jin’s bracelet, piercing the chest of the automata guards. It went straight through their Control Core. Such an accurate shot was something only the Magi Craft Meister Jin could have accomplished.

One after another, a total of eight automata guards had their Control Cores destroyed in this way, completely neutralizing them.

“W-W-Whaaat!? What on earth are you!? Who are you!?”

“…I don’t give my name to the likes of you.”

Jin’s words came out as icy daggers.

Saki and Stearleana had never seen Jin become this angry, but Elsa was a different story.

Thinking back, she believed the first time she had seen Jin get this angry was during the battle with the Unifiers. And Hannah remembered how Jin had gotten when she was surrounded by Count Walter’s soldiers.

Reiko had already taken care of all of the ten automata guards that had been sent after her.

“How about it? Still feel like doing this?”

Jin scowled at them. Frankly, the child-faced Jin’s scowl wasn’t very intimidating, but even then, after having 18 of their automata guards completely shutdown by him, the Selfish Siblings’ faces became white as a sheet.

“W-Why don’t you try laying even a single finger on me!? We’ll see what Father has to say about that, huh!?”

“I-I’m a princess! Go ahead and do your worst! I’ll have your head on a platter!”

Neither of them had reflected on their actions in the slightest. But then…

“…Good grief, is the fun over already?”

“…Andro?”

Andro, the boy who had been accompanying Beatrix all along, took a step forward.

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