My Son, Steel Titan
Everyone in the Punk Laboratory was moving with frantic energy, performing the final adjustments on the giant robot. To be precise, the massive machine still wasn't fully complete.
"Check the drive unit! There's a chance it got damaged when it fell earlier..."
"Already checked it!"
"Already? Damn it! I like you!"
While the researchers raced around without a single moment of rest, I took my time examining the giant robot's internal structure.
It went without saying that a machine of this scale would need computer components. Even missiles carried them; how else could you possibly control something so enormous without computerized guidance?
My role was to implant a soul into that very control unit. To create a weapon capable of emotion.
Hmm... This is trickier than I expected.
Implanting a soul into a computer was an incredibly difficult process. Even though I'd already succeeded once before.
It couldn't be helped. The Lucia I'd granted a soul to ran on a computer I'd built myself (admittedly quite outdated), but the hardware inside this giant robot was completely different.
It was like a programmer fluent in modern languages being forced to code by manually soldering individual copper wires. The trial and error was endless, and the mental strain gave me a headache.
What kind of miserable grind is this... It'd be faster to just build a whole new computer from scratch...
But I couldn't do that. The Dr. Eight these people had invited was supposed to be a soul specialist, not a computer expert.
The developer behind the computer circuit in the toy robot previously manufactured by Evils Corporation was still a closely guarded secret. If I created something too similar here, they'd immediately figure out who made that toy circuit.
I couldn't reveal my secrets, and I had no intention of going that far for their robot anyway. The value of granting a soul was on an entirely different level from handing over Earth technology.
[ERROR]
"...Ah, screw it. Should I just make a new computer?"
Still, the work was unbearably tedious. So much so that impulsive thoughts kept crossing my mind.
Hisssss—!
From one of the many factory chimneys scattered across the city, a plume of pure white steam erupted. It contained various toxic substances dangerous to humans.
What was dangerous to humans was also poisonous to beasts, and beastmen were no exception.
In fact, their heightened senses made them even more sensitive than humans. While the people of this city seemed unable to detect how toxic that vapor was, beastmen with their developed senses were different.
"This damn city."
Galrm blew his nose roughly, then frowned as he rubbed at his still-clogged nostrils. The smell had faded, but the mucus blocking his nose was unpleasant.
At this level, it would interfere with his breathing during a fight. For Galrm, a beastman who understood how vital proper respiration was to physical combat, it was an extremely irritating factor.
That said, he couldn't just destroy the factory spewing those toxins. There were far too many such facilities throughout the city.
And it's not like I can destroy the entire city either.
Besides, since Galrm hadn't signed the confidentiality agreement, he wasn't allowed inside the laboratory. They could prepare a waiting room, but what self-respecting bodyguard would wait in a place prepared by others? Who knew what might be installed there.
Thanks to that, Galrm usually waited outside the lab—in other words, in some corner of the city—inhaling the fine dust and polluted air that permeated the entire urban area.
If he'd known it would be like this, he thought he should have signed the agreement after all.
Click—! Click—! Click—! Hisssss—!
"Noisy, dirty... and irritating. This city really is the worst."
Another burst of steam erupted. Seeing it, Galrm's face twisted into a deep scowl. He wanted to leave this place immediately. He would have, if not for his mission.
It'd be nice if a villain showed up so he could relieve some stress—
Just as Galrm was thinking that with his eyes closed, lying under the shade for a nap, something let out a roar that shook the world.
"...What the—"
The rare sensation that stimulated his senses and nerves made Galrm shoot to his feet. He looked toward the direction where the feeling had come from. The laboratory was there. The same laboratory where Eight and Vira had entered.
Had some accident occurred? Galrm glanced at his wristwatch and realized there had been no contact from Vira or Eight. With that, he sat back down.
"Hah, what the hell is that monster making this time?"
The roar from earlier had been on a level of intensity Galrm had never experienced in his life. Would the roar of a dragon he'd never encountered feel like this?
It was a powerful cry announcing its birth to the entire world. The sound that set his nerves on edge made Galrm let out a hollow laugh. Before long, he turned his attention away and lay back down.
It was a grind. An absolute grind. After an agonizing process that felt like it was rusting away both my mind and soul, I finally succeeded in implementing a soul using this world's computer technology.
Truly, I would never do it a second time. The experience was so horrific that I swore I'd simply build an Earth-made computer instead. I'd never even taken the annihilation route, yet I'd endured such a terrible ordeal.
However, the soul created through this process had something that touched the heart. Perhaps it was because this soul had been crafted with my own time and effort, rather than something made with a simple click.
I transplanted the completed soul directly into the giant robot. After several adjustments, the soul-implanted giant robot twitched a few times before cautiously beginning to move its body.
"O-ohhh—!"
"It's moving! It's actually moving...!"
Of course, the movements weren't perfect right away. Like a newborn fawn whose legs trembled uncontrollably, the giant robot's legs shook violently, causing it to lose balance constantly.
Screams escaped the researchers' lips at the sight, but before long the giant robot learned how to walk properly and could now move on its own.
"To think I'd live to see it walk..."
"How is it? Are you satisfied?"
"Of course! I had no idea it would turn out this well! I'd love to work with you more. By the way, any interest in combining robots?"
After responding to Steelstone's suggestion with a simple smile, I shared one crucial detail—the masterpiece essential to completing the soul.
"Please give the robot a name."
"A name?"
"Yes. Even pets have names, so it would be a shame for a robot with a soul to have none. Naturally, the naming should be done by you, Mr. Steelstone, since you created this robot."
Upon hearing my words, Steelstone rested his chin in his hand and fell into deep thought. He muttered incomprehensible words between constant groans until he finally seemed to reach a decision and spoke.
"...Titan."
"Pardon?"
"Steel Titan. I've decided on Steel Titan."
The moment he bestowed a magnificent name upon the steel giant god soldier he had created, the giant robot's mouth opened on its own upon hearing its name.
"Uh, uhh—?"
At the voice coming from the robot's mouth, Steelstone slowly turned his head toward me, his neck creaking as if every joint had locked up.
I smiled silently and nodded at Steelstone, whose eyes were sparkling as he pointed at Steel Titan. He opened his mouth in disbelief.
"It... it speaks...?"
"I inserted a language pack. Compared to creating a soul, it was a very simple task... It wasn't difficult at all."
"Haha, hahaha— Easy, you say. Teaching it to speak is easy?"
Because it's a computer. Hearing that, Steelstone seemed momentarily at a loss for words, as if something had caught in his throat. Then he carefully spoke to his creation.
"...Steel Titan?"
"Yes. That's right. I... I am your father."
After a long time. Several years. Perhaps even decades of labor that could only be called a prolonged birth.
Steelstone had finally obtained a child.
"Haha, yes. I am your father..."
Humans poured unbelievable affection on children born after ten months of pregnancy. So what kind of emotions would someone feel toward a child created by devoting years—perhaps even an entire lifetime?
I couldn't easily predict such feelings. But I knew what this moment required.
I quietly left the area. The other researchers also slipped away one by one. Soon, only Steelstone and his child remained inside the laboratory.
The two of them shared a very long conversation. As if releasing decades of pent-up emotions, they talked for what seemed like an eternity.
Late that night. The laboratory, now empty after all the researchers had gone home for the first time in a long while following the completion of their long-cherished project.
A single researcher who had come to the lab alone used his ID card to approach Steel Titan.
At the sound of footsteps, Steel Titan opened its eyes. Sleep did not exist for a machine like him.
However, the intruder let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
"Sorry, but I'm not your father."
"To finish my assignment."
"What do you mean, son? Since when is a weapon someone's child?"
Parkin continued the brainwashing as he spoke. His innate superpower—the ability to brainwash beings that possessed souls.
He was a hypnotist secretly planted by the General Committee out of concern over Steelstone's potential betrayal. He had reported everything that happened that day to the committee, and after hearing his report, they had given him a new order.
Kill the child. Rebirth it as a weapon.
The human who felt not the slightest hesitation in killing machines thus erased one soul and gave birth to a weapon in its place.