“Be careful.”
“Yes, I know.”
Machina = Jin, Reiko, Ann, and Land-70 all four were standing in front of the hidden door they found in the middle of the slope that had originally been a staircase.
“Opening.”
Land-70 pushed the door, but, it didn’t budge.
“We’ve probably already been exposed. Do it with all your strength.”
“Yes.”
Following Jin’s orders, Land-70 pushed the door with full power.
The door and the latch held out, but the hinges could no longer bear with it and the whole door flopped inside the room.
They had thought the room would be cramped, but unexpectedly it was fairly spacious. Maybe about the size of a primary school classroom.
Straight forward at the back of the room a single Automata could be seen standing still.
“So you’ve finally come.”
The Automata spoke.
“You must be Elena.”
The Automata shook her head in denial at Machina’s words.
“That name was arbitrarily given to me by a slave. I am a queen. The queen of Automata.”
“As I thought, you doubtlessly are the Golden Princess of Destruction.”
Ann let out such words, then the Golden Princess of Destruction stared at her.
“So one was still left alive. Even though I thought all the puppets of Adrianna’s lineage destroyed.”
She said, as if spitting it out.
Jin was watching the image projected on Pelican-1’s Magic Screen sent through the Magic Eyes embedded in Machina’s eyes.
Even through the Magic Screen, the Automata was very beautiful.
Golden hair that reached all the way to her waist, white porcelain skin, deep crimson eyes. Her proportions were also nearly perfect.
However.
“How dangerous.”
Jin leaked out a few words as hoping to interrupt them. They were conveyed with the ManaCom through Machina’s mouth.
“What might you mean by that?”
The Golden Princess of destruction found fault with that and turned to Machina. Her eyes shined bewitchingly. They were ‘Evil Eyes’ so to speak, with the [Charm] effect.
Normally, Jin who had no resistance against mental attacks would’ve perhaps immediately become her slave.
But Machina wasn’t Jin. The picture conveyed to Jin through the Magic Eyes and the Magic Screen couldn’t charm Jin.
“Ah, I don’t know the person who built you. But I was wondering just what that person taught you.”
“Isn’t that obvious. ‘You are the best’. Those were Mother’s final words.”
“‘You are the best’?”
Reiko and Machina = Jin both said at the same time.
“That’s correct. I am the best. In other words, this whole world should get on their knees before me!”
Madness could be felt from the Golden Princess of destruction who triumphantly declared so.
“She’s malfunctioning after all, huh.”
“Yes, Fat- …Machina-sama.”
Machina = Jin and Reiko had the same conclusion.
Reiko then took a step forward.
“‘You are the best’. Don’t you think that what the person who made you wanted to say was you are the best ‘daughter she could hope for’?”
“What was that?”
“Did she not fail to continue the words ‘you are the best’?”
“…”
The Golden Princess of Destruction was at a loss for words after Reiko’s question. The madness disappeared from her eyes.
But that was just for a moment.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up! What do you know! I am Mother’s masterwork! I am the queen of Automata!”
She yelled and leapt upon Reiko. Then she tightened both her hands around Reiko’s throat.
“Ha, haha, hahahaha… I’ll twist off your head like this. Then I’ll rip off your arms and legs. Just like I did to all the Automata up to now.”
The Golden Princess of Destruction then suddenly put strength into it.
However, unlike what she wished, Reiko stayed calm. Then,
“What is it that you’re doing?”
Reiko threw words at the Princess of Destruction as though she didn’t care at all.
Shock was visible in the face of the Princess of Destruction.
“Y-y-y-you! From the battlefield, you’re the monsteeeeeeer!”
Reiko caught hold of the hands of the Princess of Destruction and easily shook them off.
“I’m not a monster. I’m an Automata. The name’s ‘Reiko’. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“You, you’re! You’re one of Adrianna’s daughteeeeers!!”
The Golden Princess of Destruction heated up even more. In contrast, Reiko was calmness itself.
“That’s right. My Mother, Adrianna Balbora Ceci built me. And Nidou Jin is my Father.”
“You say you’ve got both pareeeents? You make me laugh! Reiko, you said! As if, as if someone like you…!”
While yelling she raised her fists and threw herself upon Reiko. Reiko caught her fist.
“Stop struggling.”
However, the Golden Princess of Destruction would no longer stop. The sword arts and the martial arts she knew disappeared somewhere as she only flailed with her arms as she fought against Reiko.
She looked just like a spoiled child.
“Stop it, I said.”
“Eek!”
Reiko took the swung fist and threw the Golden Princess of Destruction to the opposite side of the room. She crashed to the wall, got up with a dangerous glint in her eye, and once again headed to face Reiko.
She was fast like a swift wind, but Reiko was even faster.
The Princess of Destruction’s left fist and Reiko’s right fist collided.
Along with a dull smash the Princess of Destruction was blown away. Her left arm was torn to pieces from the elbow to her fingertips.
“Arrgh… As I thought, someone like him couldn’t completely fix me!”
Once again the Princess of Destruction came swinging at Reiko. Reiko met her with a fist.
This time her right arm was blown off from the shoulder.
“Just stop. You cannot win against me.”
Reiko said, but the Golden Princess of Destruction’s madness didn’t weaken.
“Why, why, why! Why is Adrianna always hindering me! Why is she always bullying me! Mother! Mootheeer! Where are yoouu!”
“Reiko, something’s strange with her.”
Machina = Jin who had been watching them attentively whispered.
“Yes, so it seems.”
Reiko also felt that.
“Let’s settle this.”
Reiko said and took the Vibration Blade in her hand.
Then,
“Sleep… peacefully.”
While speaking she cut the Golden Princess of Destruction horizontally straight apart.
Her upper and lower half of the body separated, and the Princess of Destruction fell over to the floor. But words were still coming out of her mouth, and she was trying to use her sole remaining left elbow to move.
“I am… the best. I am… the… queen. Mo… t… her…”
But her movements gradually weakened, and eventually the light went out from her deep crimson eyes.
“Is it… over?”
Machina = Jin let out a sigh.
For Jin it was an extremely nerve-wracking act. Seeing her engulfed with madness until the very end was simply sorrowful.
Would Reiko have also become dominated by such madness if something had gone wrong? The situation made Jin think about that.
“Reiko, good work. Let’s recover the Golden Princess of Destruction and go home.”
“Yes, fa- …Machina-sama.”
The group then left the room behind them.