Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Steel Tower (3)
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It was about time to clear this up.
The downfall of Valkeros, abandoned by the player.
Depending on the character, but roughly half a year in game time had passed.
A breaking report spread across the entire continent: Valkeros was hosting a massive exhibition called "The Future of Magic Engineering."
It was on an unprecedented scale compared to previous events.
They promoted it relentlessly, promising major announcements.
Valkeros, the city at the forefront of technology.
Fueled by anticipation, guests poured in from the Empire and across the continent—not just imperial folk, but delegations from the Beastman Kingdom, dwarves from the Black Mountains, and even high-ranking nobles from the capital.
The star of the exhibition was the new model magic golems.
That sharp chunk of metal that had checked their invitations and led them in.
These steel giants, who had undergone explosive evolution, served dual roles as exhibits and security guards maintaining order.
- Haha, just looking at them makes me feel secure.
- Every time I visit Valkeros, it reinforces my belief: technology will set us free.
Satisfaction levels were sky-high.
Watching over a hundred new-model golems patrolling in squads made you delusionally certain that no disaster could touch you.
Utterly unaware of the horror unfolding just hours later.
Tens of thousands crowded the pentagonal plaza where the exhibition was held.
Lord Rohart took the stage for his opening speech.
Silien, the prime contributor to this progress, was absent.
She'd suddenly taken sick leave due to poor condition.
Rohart expressed regret but delivered his address anyway.
As his stern speech concluded, celebratory fireworks shot into the Valkeros sky.
Bang.
Then, the arm of one new-model golem plummeted toward the head of a noble seated in the VIP section.
- Huh?
The golem slowly raised its fist.
A red stain emerged.
A stain that had been a person moments ago.
Shattered bone fragments scattered in the blood, as surreal as a ancient dragon's assault.
Before the first scream could echo, the golems encircling the plaza went berserk in unison.
An unprecedented massacre began.
- M-Mom! Mommm!
- R-Run! The golems have gone mad!
- Don't shove me, you bastards! Do you even know who I—urk.
Screams rang out one after another.
Merciless steel fists crushed the piles of fallen people.
Most of the tangled crowd couldn't escape the plaza and were slaughtered.
The rampaging golems' objective: eliminate all visible organic lifeforms.
Silence fell in under ten minutes.
- Heh. Taking longer than I expected.
Silien watched the carnage from her room through a telescope.
The mad golems spread throughout the city.
Not people hammering steel, but steel hammering people.
Overflowing blood extinguished fires.
Industrial facilities vital to the Empire were futilely destroyed.
The dragonheart furnace, shattered that day, never beat again.
The golems that turned Valkeros into a wasteland inevitably marched on the Empire.
They were stopped far short of the capital, of course, but that wasn't the point.
The point was that those insolent hunks of metal had dared to turn on the Empire.
The true culprit behind the golem rampage—the Abyss—was never uncovered.
Rohart and his entire family were executed for treason.
Valkeros lost its autonomy and fell under direct imperial rule.
But a city with its industrial base obliterated and artisans massacred could never recover.
The city, not even leaving embers behind, decayed into a barren ruin.
This was Valkeros's downfall.
The outer god's first step into the mortal realm.
Definitely not a story to laugh about.
"That's how it went down."
The elevator descended toward the steel tower's basement.
Bran briefly recounted what had happened in Silien's study.
Kael's eyes went wide.
"M-Mental domination magic? She went that far...!"
"That bitch rubbed me the wrong way from the start. That sly fox smile of hers made my skin crawl."
Ilrak growled.
Kael, clutching Bran's collar, asked tearfully.
"Y-You're okay now, right? She didn't do anything else weird?"
"Yeah. Freude gave me some top-notch stuff."
The elixir made from crescent petals was especially unobtainable in Valkeros.
It boosted overall resistance to magic, making it a huge help in the battles ahead.
"You two keep the stuff I gave you safe too. Effects don't last forever, so time your doses right."
"Got it."
Bran had distributed helpful potions along with gear the night before.
With their specs still lacking, doping was essential to break through obstacles.
This part really is like the game.
Bran faced the two and spoke.
"Alright. Let's go over the key points again."
They'd discussed it last night, but reviewing the plan never hurt.
Judging by the elevator ride, they'd arrive soon.
"This elevator doesn't stop at our destination. It's just a transit point. Everyone remember the lab's layout?"
"Yeah."
"I do too. The first two floors are decoys, right?"
"Good. Smart cookies."
Bran chuckled.
It was worth the all-nighter planning.
The magic engineering golem lab was an ultra-secret facility.
Five floors total, but only two were publicly known.
The world's image of the lab came entirely from those camouflage layers.
They could've stopped at one floor. Tough bastards.
The first floor was for photo ops like in Valkeros promo pamphlets.
Structured just as one would imagine a "golem lab," and even open for tours.
But it only handled designs for mindless labor golems.
The second floor was for conspiracy theorists thinking, "There must be more."
A manufactured secret, shown to imperial auditors.
They did research and develop golems viable for military use.
But even that was a smokescreen—a mere distraction buried under human corpses.
"Like Ilrak said, the first two floors are fakes. To stop Silien, we need the deepest level, but this elevator won't get us there. We use the hidden passage from sublevel 2."
The core started at sublevel 3.
The real research facilities, the new golems' filthy secrets.
And the steel tower's functions unknown even to Rohart.
"All old-model golems run on the central control system on floor 3. New models on sublevel 4. Our goal: smash them all."
"G-Guards must be tight, right?"
"Obviously. From floor 3, no stopping—not even for a second."
Kael paled.
Below sublevel 3 was Silien and the Abyss's domain.
Speed mattered after arrival, but stealth was priority until then.
Alerting Silien too soon would botch everything.
And she wasn't the only Abyss operative there.
"The exhibition not happening is half the victory. Stay sharp till the end."
"Huh? Exhibition?"
"It should've happened originally... Eh, I'll explain later."
Bran shook his head.
No need to complicate things with a history that wouldn't unfold.
The future was already changing.
Enough for shrewd Silien to accelerate and revise her plans drastically.
"Oh, and slight plan change. No need for the original hide-and-seek."
"What? Then what?"
"Didn't think it'd work before, but after that mental domination, I got a feel for it. I can leverage contacts on floor 2."
Bran explained.
His original plan: sneak as stealthily as possible via secret passages.
Kidnap a researcher for a key at the end.
Was uneasy about it anyway. Perfect.
But it was risky.
Kidnapping was easy, but Ilrak's bulk made infiltration a nightmare.
Her glorious tail was burden enough; now a neck-snapped corpse too.
Ilrak clutched her forehead and wailed.
"Argh, memorizing hiding spots nearly cracked my skull since morning...!"
"S-So what now, Bran?"
"Nothing tough, don't worry. C'mere."
Bran pulled them close.
This beat the old plan, hands down.
One issue, though.
Unlike Ilrak or Bill Morris, the floor 2 contacts didn't know Bran yet.
"Awaken."
A commanding voice echoed in the darkness.
"No dawdling, Rinheight. Break time ended two minutes ago."
"Urk, ugh...?"
His head throbbed like it might split, days of sleeplessness taking its toll.
The man sprawled on the sofa swept away the magazines covering his face.
A stern, iron-faced armored woman stood arms-crossed, glaring down.
"Counting down from five. 5... 4..."
"G-Got it, rising now... Damn, I'm the one who deserves killing...!"
The man scrambled up.
His pillow spot glistened with grease.
Prickly beard like a cactus, gaunt frame—mirrors of his work hell.
Sweeping back his shaggy hair, he muttered.
"Cut me some slack, Warden... Fourth straight all-nighter..."
His name: Rinheight.
A special researcher shuttling between floors 1 and 4 of the magic golem lab.
Considering most camouflage-floor staff didn't even know floor 3 existed, a rare position.
Not that Rinheight ever took pride in it.
Then.
"I told you not to call me Warden."
Smack! The approaching woman kicked his shin.
"Heurk!"
Rinheight clutched the spot and knelt.
Eyes flashed wide. It was yesterday's bruise—hurt worse.
Ignoring his streaming tears, she continued.
"I'm your assistant. Don't twist the head supervisor's assignment like that."
"Guh... F-Feels cracked...!"
"No whining. Up. Don't wanna be crippled for life, do you?"
She pulled a small reddish mana stone from her pocket.
Function: resonate with nearby devices upon mana injection.
Beep! Beep!
Rhythmic noise from Rinheight's left ankle.
"Eek! Sorry! I'll stand right now, not that!"
Rinheight blanched.
Whining, sure, but it was filthy real!
He shot up to attention.
"Hmph. Finally usable."
She snorted, pocketing the stone.
Noise stopped.
Rinheight exhaled in relief.
"Haaa..."
The magic shackles sprouting blades from within were one reason floor 3 researchers obeyed superiors unquestioningly.
He had even stronger reasons beyond that.
"Get moving. Interview's ready."
"Interview? You don't mean..."
"Yes. Silien's messengers. Two this time."
She smiled.
Rinheight's face stiffened.
"......Understood."
It happened occasionally.
Assigning death spots to mentally dominated puppets.
He loathed it utterly, but no choice.
Head bowed, Rinheight followed her to the interview room.
Three figures stood inside the cramped space.
"...You them?"
From the left.
Handsome boy with vacant eyes.
Doll-like pretty blonde girl (boy?).
A dragonblood woman towering a head over his warden.
The boy and girl nodded in unison.
"Yes."
"Yes."
Their flat duet held no emotion.
Telltale sign of Lenavir mental domination victims.
Both looked mid-teens at most; Rinheight clenched his fist.
Now even kids for materials?
Lamentable.
The steel tower's research grew crueler by the day.
Chewing his lip, Rinheight eyed the dragonblood.
"You... not here for assignment."
"Right. I'm Silien's new secretary."
She said.
Her secretary suit confirmed it.
...Though why so tight, who knows.
Her exposed cleavage was beyond provocative—assaultive.
Rinheight cleared his throat.
"Ahem, got it. What's with the corpse?"
"Dunno. Said use for materials."
She shrugged.
Draped over her shoulder: a near-nude corpse in underwear.
Face smashed beyond recognition.
Doubtful value, but if Silien said use it...
"Fine. Assigning tasks now. You'll go with me..."
"Hold up. Message for that woman too."
As Rinheight continued.
The dragonblood suddenly pointed at his warden.
She tilted her head.
"Me?"
"Yeah. Stay there a sec?"
She strode forward.
Backing her to the door, facing the warden.
Rinheight chuckled incredulously.
That boar was big, but tiny next to the dragonblood.
Her axe looked brutal. Standard for Silien's secretaries now?
The warden narrowed her eyes at the dragonblood.
"What, what's the message that you...?"
"Yap."
As the warden questioned.
Squelch. Ilrak jammed her pinky into the woman's ear.
"Eh."
Finger vanished completely.
Warden's eyes rolled back.
Ilrak withdrew; the body crumpled.
"Urk. Gek. Grk."
"Tch, gross."
Ilrak clicked her tongue.
Her long sharp nail tip bore pinkish brain matter.
Clear fluid leaked from the convulsing woman's ear.
As reflexive scream rose in Rinheight's throat.
"Shh."
"Mmph...!"
Bran snuck behind, tackled him, and clamped his mouth.
Whispering into the near-fainting Rinheight's ear.
"Not killing you. Promise no screams, I'll let go."
"...!!!"
"Relax. I'm on your side. Help us to the secret lab, and I'll take down Silien and save your sister."
Rinheight's eyes widened.
How could a Lenavir victim move freely?
How did this boy know about his sister?
No clue what was happening, but no options now.
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!"
Rinheight nodded frantically.
At the firm affirmation, Bran's lips curled.
"Smart choice."
Connections pay off.