Chapter 27
Chapter 27
I decided not to investigate, but that did not mean I could stop thinking about it.
What exactly is the purpose?
Most of the scientists of Ex Machina are lunatics, but they are not idiots.
There is no way they would bring such a large mechanical device out into the world just for the sake of an experiment.
"It is certainly interesting, the gears that interlock so precisely and the steam engine that moves that massive body… but there are many aspects that make it somewhat lacking if you want to call it a weapon."
At first glance it looked like highly advanced technology, but in truth it was nothing more than a toy.
I observed Ariel, who had taken to the air, and the gear-constructed machine device that was spewing flames toward her.
"Kuuoooooo!"
"That roar does not sound like something coming from a steam engine. Did they put in a speaker or something? It really is a toy."
The power of the flamethrower was far weaker than the imposing appearance suggested, and the precisely interlocking gears looked like they would collapse immediately if someone simply poked the smallest gap.
"A toy made to show off to others. Nothing more, nothing less."
Then why is such a toy rampaging like this?
Before long, I understood the mad scientist’s intention.
More precisely, the moment I saw the old technician urgently stepping in to stop Ariel, who had begun casting magic.
"P-please stop! Lady Ariel! You must not destroy it!"
Eyes filled with greed.
It was obvious what kind of thoughts the person who had just appeared was having.
"What?! Th-then what should I do?!"
"You must subdue it! However, please make sure it does not become completely incapable of combat!"
It seemed they wanted to investigate that high-performance toy and absorb the technology of Ex Machina.
"What kind of absurd request is that… more importantly, who are you?!"
"I am Coran Lekias of the Imperial Royal Technology Department."
Well, the situation is certainly convenient.
The mechanical device rampaging right now had an internal structure that was completely exposed. The gears interlocking and turning inside were visible, so a lot of information could probably be gathered just by observing it from the outside.
The puzzle came together easily.
It was almost painfully obvious.
"A diversion… no, bait. Are they trying to draw attention away from something?"
It was blatant, but it was such exquisite bait that it would be impossible not to bite.
Ex Machina’s technological power is so outstanding that even though the Empire knows the location of their base, they deliberately pretend not to.
They are constantly watching for a chance to steal that technology.
However, Ex Machina knows that as well.
The moment their technology is completely taken away, their usefulness disappears, and they would be discarded without hesitation.
That is why the geniuses of Ex Machina create security systems before they reveal their inventions to the world.
In case their inventions ever fall into someone else’s hands, they install all kinds of self-destruct mechanisms.
But this one is an exception.
Regardless of self-destruct devices, they made it so the structure could be understood simply by looking at it from the outside.
"It is going to be noisy for a while."
I let out a sigh as I watched Ariel struggling while a high-ranking official delivered a long speech beside her.
It seems a storm is coming.
Time passed.
"Haa… haa… I-I’m back, Sir Johan."
"You worked hard."
In the end, Ariel returned completely drained after being pushed around by the Imperial high official.
It was her own fault. She should have simply ignored him and destroyed it immediately.
Ariel had confined the mechanical device of Ex Machina inside a temporary space she created using her own ability.
The machine continued to release steam as it wandered around inside the transparent wall.
It was truly perfect isolation.
Meanwhile, the Imperial official who had stopped Ariel earlier and the technicians who arrived afterward were building barriers around the area and investigating the machine while sketching it and taking photographs.
"How delicate."
"Wha… whew… what do you mean?"
The place where the mechanical device was currently isolated was within the grounds of the Cradle.
That means it was a location where ownership could be claimed.
Right now the Imperial side had come first and begun the investigation, but the Cradle would probably dispatch its own investigation team soon.
However, since both sides are official organizations authorized by the Emperor, they will not seriously fight over ownership.
They will likely exchange sharp words for a while before eventually settling into joint research.
One might think security at the Cradle would become stricter since two official organizations authorized by the Emperor are involved, but the problem is that technicians are usually madmen.
They hate others intruding into their territory, so there will likely be many cases where they clash with the Cradle’s security.
Even verifying the identity of a single researcher will not be easy.
Researchers themselves possess considerable authority, so even Olga Hermod will find it difficult to simply suppress them with force.
If that happens, the wall between the Cradle and the outside will grow significantly thinner.
"Perfect for an external intrusion."
"Could you stop keeping things to yourself and explain it to me too?"
I expected something like this when Saint Tilis said she would enter the Cradle.
She has made plenty of enemies, so I assumed at least one lunatic seeking revenge would show up… but the people who hate Tilis appear to be quite cautious.
Judging from the way they are attacking the Cradle’s defenses themselves to draw other avengers in.
"Lady Ariel, you look exhausted. Would you like to return?"
"You were not listening to me… I can tell that much, but suddenly?"
"You look very tired."
"...I am fine. Sir Johan gathered the courage to come out too, so I cannot return just because I am a little tired."
"It was not courage."
I did not struggle with any deep thoughts about coming outside the Cradle.
The inside was already completely ruined anyway.
I was simply waiting for the storm to pass.
Unlike the Cult situation, Tilis is not targeting me.
Besides, even if Ariel was not here, Yuna was around, so it would have been fine.
"I will definitely protect you!"
"Ah, yes."
Just what kind of resolve is Ariel making inside her head?
She is truly impossible to understand.
In the end, I could not just leave the overly motivated Ariel behind, so I brought her along as we headed toward our original destination.
Since I at least have some manners, I was thinking of buying her an ice cream on the way back.
That was when it happened, just as we finished getting the necessary reagents and were about to return.
"...Another attack."
Ariel stopped as if she had sensed the sign of another ambush.
I was stunned.
"Can people even live around here?"
Seriously, how does anyone live here?
I knew a terrorist attack happened almost every time I stepped outside, but two in one day is not exactly a livable environment.
"Maybe we are just unlucky. Both of us have quite a lot of people targeting us."
"Well now."
Cradle students are already frequent targets, so perhaps the two of us together created some kind of synergy.
For a while I looked around curiously, wondering what kind of creative lunatic this attacker would be.
"Hm. Looking closely, is he one of my kind?"
The one who soon appeared was a muscular man with his upper body bare.
The atmosphere around him felt like that of a beast that had never properly adapted to society.
"..."
No, he really was just a beast.
As one could guess from the fact that I called him my kind, the man was a beastman.
Seeing him, Ariel frowned.
That narrowed the attacker’s identity down to one possibility. I had recognized it the moment I saw him anyway.
"A barbarian."
The resistance army from the northern region that had already been annexed by the Empire.
The Spearpoint of Snowfall.
They call themselves a resistance force, but in the end they are merely people despised as barbarians.
Just looking at their appearance, which seems completely detached from civilization, it is obvious they are cruel and savage.
Originally they raised their spears with the single determination to destroy the Empire.
But those spears have long since turned toward countless unrelated people.
Even other beastmen, their own kind, are included among those targets.
Still, the reason they have managed to survive this long despite behaving like idiots is because they truly possess power.
Among all terrorist organizations, if you consider only combat strength, they are comparable to the Lemegeton.
What more needs to be said?
The Great Warrior who leads the Spearpoint of Snowfall is also one of the final boss candidates.
"O traitor who abandoned nature and fled. Do not beg me for mercy."
"Where do these insects keep crawling out from?"
"Oh dear, someone might hear you, Lady Ariel. Please watch your language. I do not mind, but you should maintain your dignity."
"It is fine. If we kill him here, the only witness will be you anyway."
Ariel’s hatred ran deep.
For someone who must constantly watch society’s eyes simply because she is a beastman, it is natural for Ariel to resent the Spearpoint of Snowfall.
After all, the reason she wears that cumbersome witch hat every day is to hide the rabbit ears growing from her head.
"Then let us begin!"
Boom!
Before the barbarian warrior could even finish speaking, magic came flying in.
The magic Ariel unleashed seriously seemed to form dozens of spells in less than a single second.
"Weak! You do not even trust the body you were born with and instead rely on such tricks!"
But the barbarian was far sturdier than expected.
Even after being struck directly by all of Ariel’s magic, he did not step back and immediately rushed forward.
"Hmph."
Boom!
But the barbarian’s movement stopped as if nailed to the air.
An invisible wall created by Ariel’s ability of telekinesis.
It was a completely one-sided battle.
The barbarian warrior endured the storm of magic without retreating, but in the end he could not cross the wall of telekinesis.
"Krah!"
Crash!
Gradually the barbarian’s knees began to bend.
The outcome had already been decided.
Creatures that never use their heads would not have some hidden trump card.
If this continued a little longer, the place where the barbarian stood would be reduced to nothing more than a lump of burnt red flesh.
But still.
"I told you to just go back."
Ariel had already used far too much magic today.
When we first came to the workshop to receive potions, she had already exhausted her mana once.
Right after leaving the Cradle, she also had to seal the Ex Machina mechanical device.
And then came the magic bombardment against the barbarian.
She had already reached her limit.
Of course, outwardly she looked completely fine, and she herself probably believed that as well.
No, she might even be feeling exhilarated.
And that meant one thing.
"Lady Ariel, you will die like that."
Her illness was worsening.
A disease where the body, unable to endure its talent, sublimates into the world itself.
When someone casts magic repeatedly in a short period of time, even the boundary between the body and mana begins to blur.
And the more that happens, the closer they come to truth, eventually becoming a great archmage.
"Tch."
I immediately launched myself forward.
Then I grabbed Ariel, who had floated into the air and was hurling spells one after another as if she had lost her reason.
Fortunately, she did not seem to recognize me as an enemy.
"Eh?! Sir Johan?"
Holding her in my arms, I began running at full speed.
"Wha… what… what is happening?!"
Has the sensation in her limbs vanished so much that even her tongue is getting twisted?
It seems impossible to put her down and tell her to run on her own.
"Krah! Krahahahaha!"
"What is that supposed to be? Spearpoint of Snowfall? That is basically an under chain."
He had taken that many direct hits from Ariel’s magic and still had the stamina to chase us?
The barbarian charging forward with blood pouring from his entire body looked like a scene from a horror film.
"Sir Johan! Put me down! I will finish him this time!"
"Stop talking nonsense and stay still."
The situation was already giving me a headache, and the girl in my arms could not even understand the situation and was trying to commit suicide.
Is it because of the exhilaration of battle?
Ariel does not realize what state she is currently in.
She has probably fallen into this condition many times before.
But she possesses the convenient ability of telekinesis.
She could even imitate normal walking and running with telekinesis.
Because of that, she developed a bad habit.
"I will handle it, so stop worrying and stay quiet."
I quickly scanned the surroundings.
I was not trying to understand the terrain.
I was searching for Yuna.
Before long, I found her.
Yuna was sitting on a nearby rooftop, looking this way.
The smile hanging on her lips was captivatingly beautiful and at the same time chilling.
As if she had only been waiting to show that smile, the moment our eyes met she vanished from sight.
It was only for a moment, but she had been watching the situation with clear interest.
"Hoo… is that so?"
I understood Yuna’s intention.
I was planning to ask for help, but it seems she wants me to overcome this situation on my own.
And that means.
"So the calculation says I can handle this?"