Magi Craft Meister

The Giga-Ants had closed the distance to just five meters from Philip and his automaton, Dona.

“Is this the end…?”

Philip closed his eyes in resignation. Just then, he felt a light so dazzling it pierced through his closed eyelids. When he opened them, he saw the Giga-Ant that had been charging him lying prone, a gaping hole burned through its head.

Standing before it was a young girl brandishing a strange-looking magic tool.

“You are…”

It was the Automaton he had met previously in Blue Land, in the Egelea Kingdom.

“Reiko, was it? …You saved me. Thank you.”

“Run. Now,” Reiko said shortly, without looking back.

The magic tool in her hand flared once more. Two more pursuing Giga-Ants were struck by beams of light, collapsing as they fell, lifeless.

“I-is that magic? Or a magic tool?”

“Master, now is not the time for idle questions…”

Reiko’s figure, holding the line against the horde of monsters, began to shrink in Philip’s vision as he fled. The remnants of the Egelea 3rd Knight Order, desperate to escape, were also in no state to identify who had come to their rescue, focused entirely on spurring their horses forward.

—

“I suppose it is time to get serious,” Reiko murmured.

Determining that human eyes would no longer be able to track her movements, she increased the output of her Laser Gun. The Giga-Ants in her line of fire fell in clusters of three or four, their bodies pierced by beams of light.

Sensing danger, the monsters spat their corrosive fluid at her, but they could not penetrate her Solid Barrier. Meanwhile, Reiko continued to unleash a barrage from the only weapon capable of firing through a Solid Barrier: her Laser Gun.

Within ten minutes, nothing was left moving in her field of vision. Still, she could not let her guard down; because they were Giga-Ants, there was a high possibility some were burrowed deep underground.

*Reiko, head toward the ruins. There are about ten left over there,* came a communication from Jin, who was observing from above.

Maintaining her Solid Barrier, Reiko began to walk slowly. It was somewhat difficult to traverse the terrain, but it couldn’t be helped. She arrived at the entrance to the ruins in minutes and swiftly dispatched the remaining eleven Giga-Ants.

—

Confirming that no one else was in the vicinity, Jin contacted Lao-jun.

“Lao-jun, deploy the Land unit now. Also, I want to collect some samples of the Giga-Ants.”

*Understood, Master. Commencing immediately.*

Within a minute, fifty Army Golems and forty Smith Golems were transferred to the scene. The Land unit began scouring the area, using their Laser Guns to hunt down any stragglers while keeping their Solid Barriers active. The Smith Golems, meanwhile, began a meticulous examination of the fallen creatures.

First, they analyzed the composition of the corrosive fluid. It appeared to be a mixture of powerful acidic liquids. Given its ability to dissolve silicon-oxide based rocks, it shared properties similar to hydrofluoric acid.

*It appears it dissolves metal as well. Iron is no match for it,* Lao-jun noted.

The 500 Golems had been made of iron. Most of the ones left behind at the ruins had been melted or destroyed; not a single one remained unscathed.

*Though they are broken, shall I recover a few of the better-preserved ones? They may prove useful for future study.*

Lao-jun decided to recover the remains of the Golems from the ruins as well. They would be analyzed thoroughly later.

*I will also destroy their internal Magi Devices to prevent them from being misused.*

It was a waste, but advanced components like the Aether Converters, which could not be replicated with current technology, would have to be rendered unanalyzable. He had considered removing them, but that would leave a trace of who had done it, so destruction was the safer route.

*Oh? What is this…*

Lao-jun spotted something rolling on the ground. It was the camera-side magic tool of a Magi Monitor, damaged by the acid. It seemed it had been discarded during the retreat.

*Coincidental as it may be, this ensures that the time of Master’s arrival remains a secret…*

The ability to use Warp Transfer was one of Jin’s most closely guarded secrets.

—

Jin was searching for survivors from the air when he thought, *Hmm, the precision and range don’t need to be high, but perhaps I should equip a ‘Magiradar’ to my own ship…*

Meanwhile, Reiko was using her internal Magi Detector to hunt down the remaining Giga-Ants. The Land unit handled the scattered ones. After she dispatched another twelve, a black shadow suddenly descended from above.

“!?”

Reiko dodged with ease, but her eyes widened in surprise at the sight. The shadow was a winged ant. The Giga-Ant had sprouted wings and was flying. To her surprise, its body was also nearly twice the size of the worker ants.

“A male ant!?”

Among the knowledge Jin had bestowed upon her was basic ant ecology. Ants that build nests underground have a Queen—the one responsible for laying eggs. At certain intervals, new Queens and males are born; they leave the nest, mate, and the Queen starts a new colony elsewhere…

“If so, there must be a Queen Ant somewhere nearby!?”

Her hypothesis was correct. While the other ants were black, a silver specimen was fluttering at a higher altitude.

*…That is undoubtedly the Queen,* Jin’s voice echoed in her mind. They had both reached the same conclusion.

“So, that’s it. The 500 Golems inside the ruins were meant to exterminate the new Queen during the breeding season,” Jin realized.

“That is highly likely,” Elsa agreed.

“But I didn’t expect the worker ants to emerge as well…”

Unlike honeybees, ants aren’t supposed to swarm in this manner, but Jin supposed that was a difference between this world and Earth. Or perhaps it was because the 500 Golems were no longer there to keep them in check.

Just as he was pondering this, “Jin-nii, look out!”

Startled by Elsa’s warning, Jin looked out the window to see the silver-winged Queen Ant bearing down on them.

“We’re going to collide!?”

—

Reiko, flying using her Force Generator, shot down the male ants. Noticing the Queen Ant targeting *Kunlun 2*, she raised her Laser Gun to shoot it down…

“…I can’t!”

She realized *Kunlun 2* was in her line of fire. If she fired, the beam of light that pierced the Queen might also strike Jin and Elsa.

“Then!”

After a split-second of hesitation, Reiko tucked her Laser Gun into her apron pocket and drew her Plasma Sword instead. Wielding a blade of light extended to five meters, she successfully slashed the Queen Ant from behind. But Reiko wasn’t one to stop at a mere strike.

“This is the price for targeting Father.”

Not content with merely cutting it in two, Reiko swung her Plasma Sword again and again, hacking the Queen into fine pieces. The Queen Ant plummeted to the ground, scattering body fluids in its wake.

*Reiko, you saved us,* Jin messaged.

“It is nothing, Father. I am sure you would have found a way to deal with it regardless,” Reiko said with characteristic humility, to which Jin offered a wry smile.

*Any signs of survivors?*

“As of now, the Magi Detector senses none.”

*I see. Understood.*

Since Reiko couldn’t sense any others, Jin lowered the altitude of *Kunlun 2*.

“Reiko, any survivors among the soldiers?”

Reiko shook her head. “…None. They are all gone.”

“I see.”

All those lying below had perished.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s collect what we can as compensation for the trouble.”

The Land and Smith Golems went to work, gathering useful materials. Reiko scoured the area for a while longer, but finding no other survivors, she concluded the crisis had passed.

“The only thing left is the hole they crawled out of.”

Deep within the ruins.

“A reconnaissance mission, then…”

Just as Jin was considering this, the Egelea 3rd Knight Order returned.

“Oh! It truly is Lord Jin Nidou! And Lady Reiko!”

It was Captain Paul.

“We are truly indebted to you for saving us from this dire crisis,” Paul and his knights offered a deep salute.

Once the formalities were done, the inevitable question followed.

“Might I ask… what brought you here, Lord Jin?”

Jin’s answer was ready.

“I was requested by Minister Kerihidore, who had been watching the Magi Monitor. I happened to be in the Klein Kingdom for the unveiling of my new airship.”

As Jin pointed upward, the *Kunlun 2* hovered majestically.

“Ah, what a magnificent machine… Thank you very much!”

They all gazed up at the sky in awe. From among the group, Philip Tifo and his Automaton, Dona, stepped forward.

“Lord Jin, it has been a while since we last parted, yet you remain unchanged. …Though, I suppose as a ‘Magicraft Meister,’ you have changed quite a bit.”

Released from the tension and terror of the day, the group relaxed and spent some time in idle, lighthearted conversation. Jin, noticing their relief, did not press the matter and simply joined in the chat.