Peering Within

"Libertas's special ability! When this creature is successfully summoned, it revives any number of Machinery-type creatures from your graveyard!"

Of course, it cost 1,000 Soul Points per revived creature. But in this situation, with Mueller's scheme having bloated his Soul Points, it was a meaningless restriction.

Kwarrrrng!!!

The torch of [Libertas] spewed fierce lightning. In response, [Lost World] stirred, awakening those slumbering beneath it.

"Come forth, Machinery's Stripling - Apache!"

Whiiing—!

The first to rise was a mechanical bee armed with autocannons and missiles.

"Machinery's Fierce Bird - B-2 Spirit Strikes!"

Next, gliding silently over the dark skies of [Lost World] was a faintly translucent mechanical bird.

"Machinery's Siege Dragon - Gustav Dora!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Following it, a mechanical dragon bearing a mountain of cannons on its back shook the earth as it appeared.

"Machinery's Deep-Sea Dragon - Nautilus!"

—Kyaooooooo—!!

Finally, the mechanical dragon [Nautilus], its red camera eyes blazing with vengeance, let out a ferocious roar.

"These creatures revived by this special ability can't declare attacks this turn... but I still have one magic circle left."

"...!"

"That card is Final Advance!"

Ricardo revealed the card he'd been holding face-down. At the same moment, the mechanical beasts roared.

"Final Advance can only be deployed when my Machinery-type creatures are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠revived by Libertas's special ability."

Gulp. Mueller swallowed hard against the rising tension.

"It negates Libertas's effect that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠says 'Creatures summoned by this creature's effect cannot declare attacks this turn,' and boosts the stats of all my Machinery-type creatures by 500 each. However, at the end of the turn I deploy this card, all my creatures go to the graveyard."

But everything will be over before then. Mueller shrieked hysterically at the chilling voice.

"Ku, kugh...! But Bone-Deep Pact is still there!"

"Forgot about Nautilus's special ability?"

"...!"

"By forgoing Nautilus's attack this turn, you can destroy one card in the opponent's field and deal 1,000 Soul Point damage."

Ricardo thrust out his sweat-soaked right arm.

"With Nautilus's special ability, destroy Devil's Contract - Bone-Deep Pact!!"

[Nautilus] slowly opened its maw. Unlike usual, a single missile emerged from within.

Foosh—whoosh! Kwarrrrng!!!!

The missile rocketed from [Nautilus] with a deafening explosion, slamming into Mueller's field and upheaving it.

"Gaaahhh!"

In one blow, the invisible chains of [Bone-Deep Pact] were shattered.

"Now, there's nothing left to block my attacks?"

The corners of his mouth, hidden by his hand until now, curled into view. What formed there was a smile thick with murderous intent.

"H-Hiiik...!"

"Go, my mechanical beasts!"

Whether Mueller let out his pathetic scream or not, the mechanical legion advanced like a tidal wave.

——In that instant, Mueller witnessed a bizarre hallucination.

[Lost World]. The trigger that turned a once-glorious civilization into ruins filled only with death. ——A vision of world war.

"H-Heuk... haaah...!"

It was a sight Mueller could never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have imagined in his entire life.

Shells and bullets rained from all directions. After a single explosion, what had been human moments before scattered as chunks of meat.

Those who "unluckily" survived the barrage wailed like children, searching for their severed limbs. Some, with their lower bodies blown clean off, dragged their spilling guts yet still clung to life.

Click! Click! One soldier, out of ammo, hurled his rifle aside and gripped a field shovel. His eyes burned an eerie red.

With a face indistinguishable between laughter and tears, he relentlessly bashed an enemy soldier's skull.

The cranium crumpled, brains and blood gushing forth, until the desperately resisting foe fell silent.

Mueller glanced down at the sensation of something sticky on his hands. Human blood and entrails clung messily to his palms.

"Uwaaaahhh...!"

⋯⋯None of that hallucination was Ricardo's intent. In fact, no one else but Mueller saw it.

Simply.

Two lifetimes, and the excruciatingly dense experiences piled from them. Ricardo's psyche, swollen from it all, had observed the intruder peering uninvited into him—and struck back. That was all.

The problem was, it was more than enough to shatter a fragile human mind. And even as it did, the duel pressed on⋯⋯.

As before, the first to move was [Machinery's Stripling - Apache]. With a storm-like roar of propellers, it unleashed autocannons and missiles in a vengeful barrage, as if venting the frustration of its earlier fall.

With [Devil's Contract] gone, there was nothing to block the rain of death.

—Kwaaaah!

[Demon - Vullrata] melted away in the salvo, leaving only a dying screech.

Slipping through the chaos from the shadows emerged [Machinery's Fierce Bird - B-2 Spirit Strikes].

The bomb cluster it dropped from its belly fell utterly silent.

No—the explosion from that embodied death devoured all sound. [Demon - Lalquia], staggering clumsily about with its bloated form, vanished into eternal silence.

Ku-gu-gu-gu-gung⋯⋯!!

[Gustav Dora] advanced, fueled by the last Factory Gauge lingering in [Rusty Factory].

Deploying mechanical struts from its hind legs to brace itself firmly,

Puuung—!!!!

it fired a dizzyingly massive shell from the cannon on its back.

The projectile was so enormous that Mueller felt as if the sky had gone pitch black.

Not even the ferryman of hell could escape the mechanical dragon's iron mace.

Kwaaaang—!!

Where the ear- and eye-searing blast passed, only a cratered wasteland remained, hinting at what had transpired.

"Gustav Dora's special ability. When it defeats an opponent's creature in battle, instead of normal damage, it deals direct Soul Point damage equal to this card's stats."

"Keurgh⋯⋯."

Mueller exhaled a final, dying breath and collapsed to his knees.

With that, the duel ended. As the Battle Table powered down, the mechanical legion and [Libertas] began crumbling away.

"⋯⋯."

Ricardo watched the sight with sunken, quiet eyes.

"Fuuu⋯⋯."

He let out a deep sigh. Rubbing his deeply shadowed eyes, he approached Mueller with his pale, fatigue-lined face.

"Well, Professor... no, Mr. Mueller. We still have a 'contract' to settle, don't we?"

He emphasized the word 'contract' deliberately. Mueller's shoulders trembled violently.

Lifting his head while shaking uncontrollably, his face was a mess of tears and snot.

What's wrong with this guy?

Ricardo recoiled in disgust, of course.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The onslaught of the Machinery horde must have been overwhelming, sure. But he hadn't expected someone who'd rolled in the underworld to have such a fragile mentality.

Naturally, Ricardo had no idea about the hallucination Mueller had seen, so he stepped back with a troubled look.

Still, business was business—

"I-I'll tell you everything! All of it! Who hired me, what their scheme was! Everything!"

——Before he could even ask, Mueller spilled it all in a panic.

"⋯⋯Ah, okay."

In truth, he'd already suspected Mueller knew the real mastermind behind this incident. According to Isabella's investigation, he was the type who gathered every scrap of info before taking a job—to avoid getting cut loose as the fall guy.

Even if he'd fallen on hard times, his upbringing as a noble scion had given him an intimate grasp of noble instincts, making it possible.

⋯⋯Of course, he hadn't expected the man to confess everything without even a truth spell!

Mueller, for his part, was desperate. To him, Ricardo—bearing that horrific psyche—looked like an indescribable monster.

"Young Lord Bardi."

Then came a bewitching voice. It was Princess Alessia.

"You must be exhausted. Why not head back and rest? I'll handle this."

"Pardon? But⋯⋯."

"Worry not."

Her red eyes blazed as fiercely as Libertas's torch.

"On my name, I will hold the culprit behind this mess accountable."

——So, leave it to me?

Overwhelmed by her fierce resolve, Ricardo nodded blankly.

"Hik⋯⋯!"

⋯⋯Beatrice, clutching her amulet at Alessia's side, trembled nonstop. For someone so timid to stick by the princess's side this long was a talent in itself.