Magi Craft Meister

Magi Craft Meister 562

16 Resolution With The Demons Arc

17-11 Teachings

"Splendid, Jin… Your mental waves have enough frequency and intensity to manipulate Ether."

No. 700672 was smiling with his whole face as he said that with a happy tone of voice.

"In other words, the Automata that you create all have the same abilities."

Heading towards the confused Jin, No. 700627 went on talking in an admonishing way.

"No living thing has mental waves strong enough to manipulate Ether at a distance. That's why they would need to use a 'mental catalyst'…"

No. 700672 seemed somehow hesitant to go on. Jin then shared an idea that had come floating to his mind.

"…What if the 'mental catalyst' also exists inside the brain of certain organisms?"

No. 7006272 couldn't hide his surprise after hearing those words.

"You certainly can see the whole picture by being shown nothing but a small piece of it, huh? …Yes, the 'mental catalyst' can be created by harvesting the brains of certain creatures. Anything that has a brain that can handle magical power has that which is necessary to create a 'mental catalyst', but…"

"…I'm sure that despite being collected from a living creature's brain, the amount of material for creating a 'mental catalyst' found there is very small, right?"

Hearing Jin had anticipated so much on his own surprised No. 700672 even more.

"That's right. If you want to create one using the creatures of this planet, you'll need to collect at least a million brains."

Jin had no intention to do -and could not condone- anything as inhuman as that.

"…The creatures of this planet?"

Then, Jin noticed the hidden meaning in the words of No. 700672.

"It's easy to guess. My artificial brain contains a considerable amount of this 'mental catalyst'."

No. 700627 stared at Jin with probing eyes, adding that the brain of the 'failures' were the same as his.

"…What do you think? If you take my brain, you can easily get the 'mental catalyst' you need to prevent another Ether Stampede, right?"

Neige silently moved between Jin and No.700672.

After all, taking his brain would be the same as killing him.

However, Jin lightly stroked Neige's hair and stared directly at No. 700672.

"I'm not so heartless as to even consider doing something like that. As the Magi Craft Meister, I'll come up with another solution."

He closed his statement with a smile.

Seeing Jin's resolve, No. 700672 smiled as well.

"Hmm, you're quite interesting… Neige, don't worry. They don't seem to be the kind of people who would do anything to me."

That said, Neige's nervousness subsided.

"…You may have already noticed that that 'failure' may have access to 'mental catalysts' made out of the brains of the other 11 of his kind."

Jin's face became grim. He didn't know how many times an Ether Stampede had taken place prior to the Great Magic War, so there was no telling exactly how many more times it could happen.

At worst, it could happen 9 more times.

"…Rather than thinking how many more times it could happen, I'd like for it to never happen again…"

No. 700672 seemed to have liked that answer.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. You really seem like a nice person, so I'll tell you something."

"…?"

"…All homunculi, myself included, are very vulnerable to low temperatures. If the temperature is below the average freezing point of water, we will not be able to function properly."

"…"

Jin seemed confused by that unexpected piece of information."

"What's the matter, Jin?"

"…I was just wondering to what extent is that actually true."

"Oh?"

"…There are many good reasons for this base being located in this high latitude region. One of them is that this region is rich in Ether. But if you were susceptible to low temperatures, you would have set up your base farther to the south, and collect as much Ether as possible there."

After listening to Jin's explanation, No. 700672 nodded repeatedly as if he had been expecting Jin to realize this.

"That's right. I'm sorry to have put you to the test. I now know that you have no intention of harming me."

"So you were testing me?"

"I apologize for that. But thanks to that I can now say with certainty that you are trustworthy."

Then, No. 700672 had Neige bring something that looked like a small box. It was made of metal and about the size of a business card holder.

"Take this with you."

"What's this?"

Jin asked while receiving the box from Neige.

"It's a 'mental catalyst'. It's the last one I have."

"Eh !? But this must be very important to you…"

However, No. 700672 stared straight into Jin's eyes and said:

"No, this must have been left in my care so that I could see it be used to put an end to the 'failures' once and for all. So it's only natural that I pass it over to you."

Looking at the box he received, Jin thanked him with a quiet voice.

"Thank you. I'll put this to good use."

No. 700672 nodded and explained how to use it.

"If you use it in Magi Machines -not in living bodies-, you have to add it to Light-attribute Magi Crystals. Can you do it?"

"Sure, with either 'Fusion' or 'Add'."

"Well, I don't know about those spells, but if you say you can do it, then that'll do. Add it at a ratio of 1 per 100 Magi Crystals."

By doing this, it will be possible to generate the optimum magic wave for Ether interference.

"You already know this, but while Magi crystals of all attributes are certainly a good choice, Magi Crystals for each attribute will work best for magic of the same attribute as them."

"Got it."

Jin thought of a speaker.

Full-range speakers certainly have many advantages. However, there is a limit to the volume they can produce. Magically speaking, they would have a low ceiling of potency.

However, in Reiko's case, her limits had reached a level way above what the average human can do.

Back to the speakers, there is a way to let the tweeter handle the treble and the woofer to handle the bass, in what is called a multi-way speaker system.

Though Jin's knowledge of audio and sound wasn't deep enough to discuss sound quality.

But in terms of magic, it was quite simple.

Fire Magic can be generated with a fire-attribute Magi Crystal, Water Magic with a water-attribute Magi Crystal, and so on.

"You seem to be good to go. I have one more thing to tell you, but it's up to you to see how you understand it."

Having said that, No. 700672 began a more sophisticated explanation.

"What is the medium through which mental and magical waves are transmitted?"

Jin listened silently.

"My masters hadn't completely figured it out, but they seemed to think that there are particles that are even smaller than Ether that serve that very purpose."

"…Something named Under Ether, right?"

"Yes, exactly. You sure are quick to understand."

If Under Ether were seen as air molecules, then Ether would be a balloon. The flow of air molecules, that is, the wind, can move the balloon.

The phenomenon of manipulating Ether with mental waves has a similar relationship.

Magical power is also transmitted through this Under Ether. In other words, you can deal with all kinds of magic by dealing with Under Ether. Theoretically speaking, that is.

"So, did you manage to understand?"

"Yes, at least the road ahead is visible now."

"Oh…"

"I've been considering some measures to counter the 'failure'. I've been worried about his ability to teleport away and escape anything I could have prepared to deal with him, but now I have a plan against that too."

No. 700672 nodded.

"Hmm, to interfere with his transfer ability? I'm sure you're aware that it needs a transfer marker for it to work. All you have to do is simply to radiate the same magical power as the transfer marker."

From the theory discussed so far, Jin was confident that he could now produce the magic wave he needed.

"Yes, I think so. I would have to make it so that he can't know which is the signal that comes from his real transfer marker."

"That's right. You're really impressive. You make me think you really can get rid of the 'failure'…"

"That's been the plan from the beginning."

No. 700672's face seemed as if he was about to burst into laughter.

"When I look at you, I remember my masters. Back when they were full of motivation and life."

No. 700672 squinted a little and seemed to be looking at a place somewhere far away into the past.

"Thank you so much for everything."

Jin thanked him and told him that he was about to take his leave. He still had a lot to ask, but time was of the essence. He had a lot of work to do at his laboratory.

As he was about to leave, No. 700672 called him over.

"… I'm sorry, but could you come closer for a bit?"

There was something a little different about No. 700672's voice this time.

"What is it?"

Jin walked up to the bed where No. 700672 lay.

"…"

No. 700672 silently stared at Jin.

"…?"

Then No. 700672 reached out with his right hand and took Jin's hand.

"Umm…?"

However, No. 700672 quickly let go of it and went back to lying on his bed.

"…I'm sorry to have stopped you from leaving, Jin. I just felt bad about asking you to deal with the 'failure' in my stead."

"Don't worry about it. I was going to do it either way."

"…Will you come again?"

"Sure, after this situation has been cleared up."

"I'm looking forward to it. I really enjoyed talking with you."

"Me too. Until then."

Thus Jin left the room.

No. 700672 remained lying down and staring at the ceiling… Or rather, he was staring at the sky that was supposed to be way past it.

"…Father?"

The white girl, Neige, saw her father's behavior and called out worriedly.

"…Neige, for a brief moment, I felt like I was back in the old days."

"What do you mean, father?"

"…That young man named Jin reminds me of my former masters, even though he may look different from them."

Once again, No. 700627 seemed to be smiling with his own face nostalgically.

"I was given knowledge by the masters who made me, and I passed that knowledge on to my masters' children and grandchildren. This man has reminded me of those times."

Then the exhausted No. 700672 closed his eyes again. Neige stared at his father, unable to hide the sadness in her own eyes.