The Walking Steel Fortress
The Killing Machine (4). The walking steel fortress. The colossal metal monster. The engine of calamity. The destroyer, bearing countless epithets, revealed itself before the Humian army. It was the power of ruin created by the Humians. The worst product of all the magical technologies wielded by the continent of Astaris’s cruel conquerors. The arcane giant soldier, hailed as the ultimate weapon.
Uuuuuuung… Thud!!! The arcane giant soldier advanced, its four massive legs—each with two joints—pounding forward. Though its movements were far from swift, the sheer size of the machine granted it strides long enough to topple century-old trees with ease, allowing it to cover ground at a surprisingly rapid pace. Every time its enormous bulk shifted and its feet struck the earth, the ground trembled.
The arcane giant soldier possessed a long, oval-shaped torso. Its body, forged from gray metal tinged with a reddish hue, glowed with a metallic sheen that could never exist in nature. This was proof that it had been constructed from an alloy of the Humians’ own making, and it was clear that its hardness would be extraordinary. Cannons for offense bristled across its frame, while intricate mana circuits for large-scale tactical magic were etched across its exterior. At the exact center of its front was a circular, concave depression, within which sat a massive red sphere. Four legs extended outward from its lower section, each equipped with joints at the knee and ankle. This design granted it the flexibility to traverse uneven terrain while still supporting the colossal weight of its body. A machine so enormous that its mere ability to move seemed miraculous, it fully justified its epithet as the walking steel fortress.
“Hahahaha!! This is the strongest weapon even the Demon Lord could not withstand!!! What can you possibly do alone?!”
The Humian commander, who had hastily retreated to the rear, raised his voice with triumphant bravado. Sweat still trickled down his face from tension and fear, yet the sight of this immense and majestic arcane giant soldier made defeat unimaginable. The anecdote he mentioned regarding the Demon Lord was, in a sense, true. Neromeltia’s mana barrier had indeed collapsed under the barrage of mana beam cannons fired by thousands of arcane giant soldiers. However, Beatrice—who knew the full truth of the Humian assault from a thousand years ago—found the commander’s words deeply irritating. Ignorant of why the Demon Lord had been forced into helplessness, the commander wrongly believed the arcane giant soldiers’ power alone had subdued her. He seemed to be under the delusion that the arcane giant soldiers had supported the hero’s party in battle.
“Even the outdated models from a thousand years ago displayed enough might to defeat the Demon Lord. Unless you are stronger than the Demon Lord herself, there is no way to resist this arcane giant soldier!! If you surrender quietly, I may even show you mercy!!!”
In that instant, Beatrice’s blue eyes blazed with intense light. The burning azure glow flashed so brightly that it seemed to reach the commander far in the rear. At that moment, not only the commander but every Humian present felt it: that terrifying maid was about to move.
“Arcane Giant Soldier HAK-357! Attack!!!”
Uuuuuuuuung…!! Upon receiving the commander’s order, the arcane giant soldier in the front began to fully activate its mana. A thunderous roar echoed from within its massive metal frame as if something were spinning violently, and intense red light began to blaze from every part of its body. It was Vitana—the mana of life, the very opposite of the destructive Luina—and it stood in direct opposition to the black mana currently swirling around Beatrice’s form.
Zuuuooooong!!! Kugugugugugu!!! In an instant, the red sphere at the center of the arcane giant soldier’s torso emitted a brilliant light, and a mana beam the same size as the sphere erupted forth. A deafening roar, like an avalanche, shook the earth. The mana beam that struck the ground in front of the arcane giant soldier surged forward in an instant, racing toward Beatrice. In its wake, a deep, long trench was carved into the earth, as though it intended to split the ground in half. The scale was so immense that it deserved to be called a mana beam cannon rather than merely a mana beam. And indeed, the Humians referred to it as such.
Beatrice swiftly sidestepped, evading the colossal mana beam cannon.
Kudududududuk!!! Kwaaaang!!! The mana beam cannon, having missed Beatrice, sliced through the air and vanished into the distance. It possessed enough power to devastate the Caboni Forest far behind her. Mana beams gradually dispersed and weakened the farther they traveled. Even so, their aftereffects reached the Caboni Forest, which appeared no larger than a fingertip from this distance. Dozens of trees were destroyed, and rocks struck by the beam exploded, sending fragments flying in every direction—an awe-inspiring sight. Upon witnessing the destruction reach the Caboni Forest—a land brimming with life, destined to play a vital role under the Demon Lord’s name—Beatrice’s expression filled with disgust.
“Truly… everything touched by Humian hands ends up broken.”
Clack! In that moment, Beatrice’s right hand split in two. The divided halves folded back in opposite directions, and from within emerged long, intricate metal mechanisms. Clack! Clack! Clack!! Components of unknown purpose began assembling around the central metal structure or emerging from inside it. What had initially appeared to be nothing more than a skeletal frame gradually took on a distinct shape as parts locked into place. In the time it took to swallow a single sip of tea, the mechanism was complete.
Clang!! As the final cover piece snapped into place, the metal components resonated with a clear, ringing tone. It was a chainsaw. The silver-gleaming chainsaw was now attached to Beatrice’s arm in place of her vanished right hand. Its blade, longer than her arm, was encircled by a chain lined with small, razor-sharp teeth that gleamed as though boasting of their lethality. The chainsaw’s body was divided into three sections, connected by pipes with exhaust vents along the sides. A handguard covered the center where the body met the blade, featuring a red spherical mana stone at its core and a curved auxiliary grip on the outer edge.
Uuuuuuuuuuuung!!!!! The mana stone embedded in the handguard flared brilliantly. The chain wrapped around the blade began to spin violently with a thunderous roar. The teeth attached to the chain whirled so fast they became invisible, leaving smooth, translucent afterimages in their wake.
Uuuuuuuuung!!!
“Fire! Fire everything you’ve got!!!”
Beatrice charged forward without warning. Her speed on just two legs was unbelievable, far surpassing even the Humians’ prized agile transport vehicles, the Scavengers.
Thud!! Thud!! Thud!! Thud!! Thud!! Tutututututututu!!! Tutututututututu!!! Zuuuung!! Zuuuung!! Zuuuoooong!! Every type of weapon mounted on Arcane Giant Soldier HAK-357 opened fire on Beatrice. Cone-shaped, spiraling projectiles. Rapid-fire mana bullets. Thin yet powerful red mana beams. Kwaaaang!!! Kwaaaang!! Kwakwaaaang!!! Even explosive shells that detonated on impact rained down. Every conceivable form of attack poured toward her, with explosive shells pre-aimed at the projected path of her advance, their flames and shockwaves reaching out like claws. Yet not even the spiraling projectiles that could pierce steel, the mana bullet barrages that could turn a grizzly bear into a sieve, or the red mana beams capable of slicing through thick fortress walls could penetrate the black mana enveloping Beatrice. Though she dodged the majority of the attacks, her focus on rapid advance meant she occasionally took hits head-on while continuing her charge. The Humian commander grew increasingly flustered despite Beatrice allowing some attacks to land. She was simply ignoring them all, as though they were nothing more than a tickle. Even when shells exploded around her, she suffered no damage and showed no sign of slowing.
“I-Is the mana beam cannon not ready yet?! None of the other attacks are working!! We need a big hit!!!”
“A-Ah, it’s still charging! We can’t make it in time!!!”
“D-Do something!!! She’s already here!!!”
“We’ll activate Defensive Area!!!”
At the commander’s frantic order to do whatever it took, the lead operator controlling the arcane giant soldier remotely activated a defensive mana barrier to buy time. Every attack the arcane giant soldier could unleash was lethal. Yet against this unidentified maid charging toward them with such ferocity, the word “lethal” held no meaning—she treated them as less than a light drizzle. The lead operator fully agreed with the commander. Ordinary attacks would never harm this terrifying maid; only the mana beam cannon offered any hope. However, the mana beam cannon consumed an enormous amount of mana proportional to its power, requiring a set charging time before it could fire. With the maid already upon them, the lead operator decided to erect a wall—anything to slow her charge even slightly.
Zukuuuuuuuung!!! A massive dome-shaped orange defensive mana barrier activated. The moment it touched the ground, it let out a tremendous roar and sent waves of earth and soil flying, as though a colossal structure had plummeted from the sky. The Defensive Area, large enough to envelop the entire arcane giant soldier, was one of the large-scale tactical spells inscribed upon it.
Uuuuuuuung!!! The arcane giant soldier had ceased all ineffective attacks. It had already been proven that no matter how many weaker attacks were fired, they would have no effect on the maid. To conserve even a fraction more mana for the beam cannon’s charge, it poured everything into that single purpose. Naturally, the arcane giant soldier diverted all its mana circuits to fully charge the mana beam cannon. The commander believed this method would allow them to fire the mana beam cannon at least once more. If the defensive mana barrier bought them even a little time, the charging would surely complete.
Yet the commander’s hope was mercilessly shattered.
Uuuuuuuuung!!! Kudududududuk…!!! Kwaaaang!!!!! The massive defensive mana barrier, scattering soil as it stood in Beatrice’s way. Beatrice’s expression did not so much as flicker. She simply swung her chainsaw with cold indifference. When the violently spinning chainsaw struck the mana barrier, brilliant sparks erupted, testifying to the barrier’s durability. But that lasted only an instant. The mana barrier, despite its imposing size, shattered effortlessly upon contact with the chainsaw. Like a porcelain plate breaking, it fragmented into countless pieces before vanishing into the air. The Humian soldiers, who had witnessed the Defensive Area—unscathed even after dozens of shells—destroyed by a single strike, stood frozen in shock, their breaths caught in their throats. Beatrice, however, regarded the scene as entirely natural. The moment the barrier broke, she leaped high into the air.