Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: Machine God Schism
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Underground 1st Floor
One of the three races that entered Babel.
The Machine Gods' communication takes place in the cybernetic world.
Three holograms appeared in the computer brain of the Machine God Gigaromakina.
- Babel entry, 21 years 33 days 4 hours 21 seconds elapsed.
- Commencing the 5521st Machine God Consensus Meeting.
Participation.
- Conservative 「Dominium Cluster」 [Current Machine God main system].
- Progressive 「Conquistadores Cluster」.
- Neutral 「King Maker Cluster」.
The three systems exchanged signals with each other.
- The agenda is regarding 「Babel Permanent Migration」.
- Details were discussed in the 5520th meeting.
- Beginning a new vote.
The Machine Gods' decisions are determined by the votes of the three systems divided into conservative, progressive, and neutral.
Two blue signals and one red signal were exchanged.
- Progressive 「Conquistadores」 votes in favor of the agenda.
- Neutral 「King Maker」 votes in favor of the agenda.
- Conservative 「Dominium」 votes against the agenda.
- 2 votes in favor, 1 vote against.
The neutral consciousness, King Maker, summarized the opinion.
- The 「Babel Permanent Migration」 agenda has passed.
- Per Machine God principles, the Machine God main system will be replaced.
- Machine God authority will transfer from Dominium to King Maker, and Dominium will convert to neutral cluster...
Kieeeing!
A high vibration rang out, and King Maker's hologram shook.
- Rejected.
Dominium emitted a red signal signifying negation.
King Maker summarized the opinion again.
- Per Machine God principles, the agenda has passed. Machine God authority will transfer from Dominium to King Maker...
- Rejected.
Beeeeep!
Gigaromakina's computer brain filled with red signals.
- Rejected.
- Rejected.
- Rejected.
- Rejected. Rejected. Rejected. 否決. REJECTION. Ablehnung. Отклонено. ปฏิเสธ...
The computer brain overflowed with rejection signals.
This was not a normal situation.
The other system, Conquistadores, stepped in.
- Dominium Cluster. Your current actions violate Machine God principles.
- The 150-day Machine God authority rotation is not being observed.
- Dominium's extension of Machine God authority has exceeded 17 years 54 days 10 hours 49 seconds.
- You are not complying with the consensus decision from the 5520th meeting.
- Unify your will.
- Follow Machine God principles.
Despite the demands from the two systems, Dominium showed no change.
Instead, the ominous red light grew stronger.
- Current Machine God main system 「Dominium Cluster」 declares emergency authority protocol.
- Severely reduces authority of Progressive Cluster 「Conquistadores」.
- Severely reduces authority of Neutral Cluster 「King Maker」.
- Permanently abolishes Machine God consensus meetings.
The two systems urgently sent red signals.
- 「Conquistadores」 votes against the agenda.
- 「King Maker」 votes against the agenda.
Pajijik!
Sparks flew from the circuits.
A heterogeneous black energy invaded Conquistadores in the cybernetic world.
[Conquistadores corrosion rate 17%, 21%...]
- Pro, pro, progressive cluster Conqui, qui, stadores...
At the abnormal behavior occurring to Conquistadores, King Maker quickly switched its will.
- System emergency purge.
- 「King Maker」 temporarily separates from Machine God Gigaromakina to maintain system purity.
King Maker's hologram vanished from Gigaromakina's computer brain.
Another shadow appeared in the cybernetic world.
"Kekeke. Things are progressing just as per the contract."
An old man wearing a hat and holding a cane.
Babel's Four Heavenly Kings. It was Hydrich of Destruction.
"I'm becoming the new Demon King, and you'll be one of the Four Heavenly Kings protecting me. You know that, right? Dominium."
- Con, con, confirmed.
Magical energy swirled around Dominium's circuits.
"Heh heh heh, it's almost too easy. You're an advanced and powerful race, but so lacking in flexibility. Once I analyzed your thought circuits and corroded them a few times, look at you now."
The Machine God race was excessively vulnerable to first-time intrusions.
Once analyzed, they could devise countermeasures faster than any race, but by then it was too late.
Their judgment and efficiency surpassed any race, but conversely, negative influences spread faster than in any other.
The entire Machine God race had effectively fallen into Hydrich's hands.
And no one interfered with his actions.
Haniel, the angel in charge of the Machine God race, quietly acquiesced.
'Oh my, rather than that, isn't Hydrich joining our angel side? He says he'll fight Bel Marduk alongside the Machine Gods.'
After confirming her will, Hydrich boldly stole the 'treasure' from another Four Heavenly King, Hildegaard.
'Circlet of the Divine Eye'.
It was the item the Demon King needed to gaze down upon the lower world from the 88th floor.
Without it, the Demon King could not directly monitor the lower world.
"Make me the Demon King."
Hydrich's hologram caressed the scenery of the virtual space.
The system 「King Maker」, which had fled from Hydrich and Dominium, thought.
- Reviewing solutions to overcome the current situation.
- 1. Escape without being detected by corrupted kin.
- 2. Independently execute the 「Babel Permanent Migration」 plan.
- 3. Need powerful allies to seize control of Machine God meetings.
- Reviewing details.
- Executing dimensional leap, accessing Babel system, confirming powerful ally candidates in Babel: 'Beastkin', 'Earthlings'.
- Continuing information gathering, solution review and revision, Babel system analysis.
King Maker fled, evading the eyes of its kin.
To a deeper place where its kin wouldn't search, to the deeper parts of Babel where the system was easier to analyze.
They flowed into the underground.
* * *
[You have entered Babel's hidden Underground 1st Floor.]
[As a reward, one black coin is given.]
Ju Gonghyeok slowly opened his eyes.
In the pitch-black space devoid of any light, he felt a solid metallic floor.
"Ra-Djehuty. Lend me some light."
= If necessary.
Bright sunlight floated on the ceiling.
The place where Ju Gonghyeok stood was a silver corridor.
A sleek metal passage that felt like being inside a refined spaceship.
Nathaniel asked, looking somewhat unfamiliar.
- Is this how it's supposed to be? Honestly, I've never been to Underground 1st Floor.
"No. These are things made by the Machine Gods."
Ju Gonghyeok walked down the corridor as if familiar with it.
Seeing his hesitation-free demeanor, Nathaniel looked around and asked.
- So, what are you doing here after smashing everything to the bottom?
"I need a trap for the future."
- A trap? Like with Cluesti last time?
"Yeah."
- Our human hunter is trying to catch and beat someone again...
Ju Gonghyeok gave a simple answer.
"A trap to kill the Demon King."
- ...The Demon King?
"Yeah. I've seen it work a few times."
In his previous life, at the very end, where did Zeus's lightning and Gleipnir's chains that attacked the Demon King from Babel's floor come from?
Simple.
Ju Gonghyeok had brought materials from Earth and installed them in advance in Underground 1st Floor.
Nathaniel asked suspiciously.
- Hunter. Can you make a trap that can catch even the Demon King by yourself? No matter how I look, you don't have related traits?
"Not by myself. But instead..."
Blue light flashed at the end of the corridor.
Ju Gonghyeok pointed to the blue light.
"There's a slave there."
"Confirmation. Bipedal organic lifeform."
A Machine God with eight legs looked at Ju Gonghyeok.
Giiiing—!
A loud siren echoed through the corridor.
- All entities, emergency assembly! Organic lifeform detected in Sector B-82! Organic lifeform detected in Sector B-82!
- Act according to the organic lifeform response manual!
Machine Gods swarmed into the chamber at the end of the corridor.
The one from earlier with eight legs like an octopus, ones floating as spheres without limbs, ones crawling on dozens of legs like centipedes, ones shaped like swords carried by other Machine Gods.
They came in all sorts of shapes.
Among them, a humanoid Machine God stepped forward.
"Excuse me. Are you a 'Beastkin' individual or an 'Earthling'?"
Nathaniel whispered in Ju Gonghyeok's ear.
- These guys don't seem like they're planning to attack right away.
"You'll see. I'm an Earthling."
Giiiing—!
The loud siren echoed through the chamber again.
- Confirmed organic lifeform is Earthling! Searching Earthling response manual!
Clank.
The humanoid Machine God extended its hand.
"Greetings. 「King Maker Cluster」 Unit 1129, Dual-87. Pleased to meet you, Earthling."
"Sure."
Ju Gonghyeok shook its hand.
The siren rang again.
- All 42 confirmed Earthling greeting methods executed!
- First greeting method, handshake, passed!
- Executing next greeting method!
Thud!
The humanoid Machine God knelt and prostrated itself.
"Welcome. Truly pleased to meet you, Earthling! Please tell me your individual name!"
"Ju Gonghyeok."
- Second greeting method, dogeza, passed!
- Executing next greeting method!
The Machine God sprang up.
"Introduction. This is the female individual we made for Earthlings."
A human girl in a skirt appeared from the corner.
"Mating. I heard the best outcome for a first meeting is 'sex'. This android is our masterpiece with an exterior tailored to Earthling preferences, and artificial genitalia and skin we poured our hearts into creating..."
The girl with abnormally large eyes playfully stuck out her tongue.
"Hi! I'm Magical Girl Myungmyung! Hmph! It's not like I particularly like you or anything..."
Crack!
Ju Gonghyeok's steel prosthetic fist smashed Magical Girl Myungmyung's jaw.
Android Myungmyung's neck twisted grotesquely several times to the side.
"Hi! I'm Ma, ma, ma, magical gi, gi, girl..."
Nathaniel backed away with a strange expression.
- What the hell are these things?
"Not fun?"
- No, do you find this fun? Are you sane?
The Machine Gods began their meeting in front of the man who might or might not be sane.
"Regret. The Earthling destroyed one of our units."
"Calm. That action is included in one of the Earthling's 42 greeting methods."
"Search. According to collected video media, Earthlings attack unfamiliar aliens and robots first with 78.9% probability."
"Understood. Shall we start attacking too?"
Unfortunately, it wasn't Ju Gonghyeok who moved the prosthetic.
Crunch! Crunch!
The shark teeth on the prosthetic shredded Magical Girl Myungmyung's body to pieces and melted it in a small furnace.
[Vulcanus: Analyzing sub-body.]
[Suspected 111th Machine God, Ark Makina successor cluster.]
[Acquired King Maker Cluster Type B artificial muscle.]
[Acquired latest 55-type plasma generator.]
[Acquired 7% research on latest Type 1 combat weapon, Tachyon Lance.]
[Some functions implementable later.]
[Avatar swap.]
[Brain God Zeus (SS++) -> Destruction Machine God Vulcanus (SS+).]
Vulcanus manifested behind Ju Gonghyeok.
= Target confirmed. 864 Machine God units.
Vulcanus grows stronger the more Machine Gods it devours.
And right here were the Machine Gods that Vulcanus had so desperately sought.
Crunch, cruuunch—
The prosthetic transformed grotesquely like a living creature.
Three branch-like barrels formed forward.
Ju Gonghyeok's absorbed weapons: the Gauss Rifle and Photon Magic Cannon.
And the charged particle cannon made by absorbing Cluesti's power.
Undeniable weapons of destruction.
= Executing scheduled extermination activity.
Clank.
The Machine Gods drew their weapons as well.
"Regret."
"Deep regret."