The Summoner of ■■ (31)

As time wore on, the battle itself dissolved into pure chaos.

The manufactured forces, none too pleased with my approach, endlessly blocked the paths or simply smashed them apart to bar my way. At first I detoured or hunted for other routes, but the moment Haze returned after scouring the exterior clean, we began hurling the blocked sections elsewhere or clearing them outright, punching straight through. Thanks to that, we toppled the factory-like zones where the machines kept spawning, sealing off the enemy’s mass production one by one.

This was chess.

The enemy could keep churning out pawns, but that was all they had. Our side, by contrast, felt packed with special pieces—knights, bishops, queens. Facing overwhelming force with fierce, calculated exchanges, the corners of my mouth never once thought of dropping as we moved. Status windows and the like had interested me at first, but that only lasts a day or two; as time passed the fun plummeted and it became nothing more than “work” I had to do. In a reality where every day was endlessly dull, repeating these game-like calculation battles was pure, unfiltered joy.

But even that end was drawing steadily closer.

BOOM!!

“That should be the last of the factories.”

We had destroyed every factory district that served as the core of the enemy’s sole advantage—endless numbers. Split into three armies and tightly hidden, with zones shifting like cubes on the hour, it had been a genuine nuisance at first. Only later, with Haze’s return and Hive’s cooperation, did full-power searching finally pin them down. No more reinforcements. I had no idea how the remaining forces would fare, but erasing one of the enemy’s pillars was worth celebrating.

“How will they come at us next?”

The plan to overwhelm with sheer volume had failed. So what would they try now?

Rumble…!

The answer arrived at once. At the vibration that shook the entire zone I vaulted onto Growl’s back, but the wall flying toward me was faster.

Whoosh!!

Like something yanked from a locker, the section separated from the tower was literally discarded outside. A chilly wind brushed my cheek. I had thought we had climbed quite high, yet being thrown out like this froze my guts solid. It was closer to a bungee jump of an entirely different sensation than soaring on Kallion’s back.

“Puhat…!”

I had half-expected something, but never imagined they would blast the zone itself to eliminate the threat. A more primitive method than I had pictured, yet the effect was certain. Short on time, so simply hurl me—the cause—out to buy a few precious moments.

Clack.

One regret: the enemy had underestimated me far too much, and climbing back from the start would be pure tedium. I wanted a thrilling, heart-pounding game, not boring grinding. So I ordered Growl to leap into the air using the footholds Haze had created. Linked through me via Link, the time lag was negligible.

Aiming for the tower entrance that now gaped like a missing puzzle piece, I tried to slip inside—only for electricity to spray out like a wall, sealing the hole. Haze simply tore space and shoved the lightning-touched volume itself aside, opening a clean path. I strolled leisurely back into the tower’s interior.

Ratatatatat!!!

Bullets streaked toward me, but their force was nothing like the beginning. The aftermath of the factories’ destruction was plain. Attacks that shadows could shrug off easily were never going to achieve much. Without me lifting a finger, Haze’s wind barrier alone bent the rounds and bounced them away before they ever touched me.

Even under the hail of bullets I remained leisurely. Judging the situation hopeless, the machines ceased their wasteful expenditure of ammunition.

They retreated swiftly and advanced as one toward a single destination. Information from Hive’s shadow crows confirmed it was the tower’s central core. Realizing simple harassment was meaningless, they were preparing for a final stand? Personally I would have preferred a little more thrashing about, but demanding that of the side being crushed was pure luxury.

“Thanks for the fun.”

I stretched, easing the last tension from my body, and strolled after them. Whether they welcomed my arrival or not, the machines lined up yet made no move to attack. In a chamber whose structure resembled one I had seen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before, a massive blue sphere pulsed like a living heart, thick cables throbbing around it. It looked so much like the tower’s own heart that I could not hide my interest.

As if fed up with my gaze, the mechanical heart gave a single heavy beat, and light flooded the giant monitor beside it.

“No more hostility, then?”

As the monitor spat out its agreement, I felt the corners of my mouth slowly fall. They say being too clever is no good either—yet the boring development I had half-dreaded was unfolding for real. I had hoped for anything but this dull conclusion; apparently I had expected far too much.

The enemy had not underestimated me. On the contrary, even without underestimation this was the only response its own inadequacy allowed—negotiation.

“Even if that desire is your life?”

“So no matter how thoroughly I smash the body, you’ll just come back—leave it alone, is that it?”

The easy agreement drew a sigh from me. Still, the feeling was not bad. The sudden drop from pure exhilaration into cold reality was part of a game’s charm, was it not? In that sense the sensation was far too similar to my previous life.

The game was over. What remained was reality’s story.

Even if I detonated that core, information about me would still be preserved somewhere among the machines. The AI would simply build another similar tower elsewhere. This was nothing more than a power source for more efficient tower management. The real thing was the entity that orchestrated and moved the tower itself—the boss.

Of course, that assumed this place was not a dungeon. The moment I declared a clear, everything that had happened here would become as if it never was. That was simply how dungeons worked.

“Come out.”

If we were going to talk, we might as well do it face-to-face with that fine mug of yours. I casually shaped a chair of shadow and sank into it. Not that I had neglected precautions. Haze and Hive stood ready for immediate action, and Growl held a combat stance at my side, prepared to strike at any moment.

Faced with my perfect readiness, the entity fell silent for a while before speaking again.

Shortly afterward a humanoid robot walked out from the rear.

“A maid?”

The machine’s form resembled a jointed doll that an artist might have once seen, with a mannequin’s shell grafted over it. Add a half-tattered maid uniform and the eeriness doubled. Honestly, I could not understand how that appearance had ever approached a young girl’s.

“…I’d like to hear the reason.”

For all the calm delivery, the tone carried a sharp edge. The latter questions were clearly a reverse scale for her.

This one… well, since she was a maid, “her” it was.

Looking at her, I felt a sense of dissonance. More precisely, the very way she thought felt familiar. After turning the sensation over in my mind I reached a single conclusion.

She only recently gained a self?

Immature. Exactly like Haze before her evolution—newly born, absorbing everything around her to grow. The richer emotional side compared to that period of Haze’s life was probably a species difference. Unlike a spirit whose information sources were limited, she was a machine—originally positioned to access any data resource she wished.

“What I want is you.”

I immediately deployed my shadows—tools I had previously designed solely for disassembly and deconstruction. Taking it as a declaration of combat, she flinched and edged back, but when I made no further move she realized there was no need for alarm and stepped forward again.

“An android. Specifically, the information data of the unit you have long inhabited and piloted. Everything down to the changes that occur when it is broken into circuits and components and reassembled.”

I would start with the least likely possibility and work my way down. If, at the very end, the Book of Summoning judged it possible, something related to her would be added to the summon list.

“That’s all.”

I had entered this dungeon for that exact purpose. Otherwise I would have gone to another long ago. Once I left, the dungeon would reset to the beginning anyway. No need for deep thought—just grab what was needed and go.

My blunt answer must have struck ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her as thoroughly bizarre; she kept muttering about incomprehensibility. Behind her appeared another android in the same maid uniform, older and more tattered.

As she said, its movements were sluggish. It limped when it walked and trembled faintly when it moved its hands—full of defects. Yet beyond that, the traces of having lived alongside someone were still clearly visible.

“I’ll try it first.”

I approached the old unit at once and began disassembly. Having prior knowledge made a world of difference; as the basic model for the data I had obtained on the island, many structures were similar. I worked with delicate care so nothing would break or go missing—the muscle-like wiring, the mechanical cores that replaced organs, and finally the autonomous computer and circuits that served as its brain. Without leaving a single piece behind I completed both the full disassembly and the reverse reassembly. When I checked the Book of Summoning, a new option had appeared: Automata.

Not “android” but “Automata”—this must be the progenitor of the species she had newly established. The projected image did not look drastically different.

I was about to insert the hologram and finalize the summon when I turned my gaze aside. The one who had been watching my every action without blinking met my eyes the moment I looked up. Her appearance was uncannily human yet not quite, stirring the uncanny valley. That very quality let me speak with perfect confidence.

“Mind if I take this?”

I had intended to do exactly that even without being told. The dungeon had already issued a clear judgment the moment I met her in this room; I had merely set the remaining task aside. Why she had wanted to create a world solely for machines was none of my concern. I only cared whether something would be useful to me or not.

I fully inserted the hologram floating above the Book of Summoning and closed the book. As always, I did not name it.

“Confirm.”

At my calm word, mana rose around us. She retreated swiftly—quick on the uptake. Had she not stepped back she would have been shoved over by the barrier. In that respect machines really were superior to living beings.

Even as I held that idle thought, a splitting pain lanced through my skull. My eyes burned as if they would melt; something hot trickled down my cheeks. Reflexively clutching my aching head, I wiped my face with a trembling hand and felt vivid blood welling up like tears. I had said it wouldn’t come from my mouth, so now it was coming from my eyes. At this rate every hole in my body might start bleeding. The thought was so chilling I slapped my own cheek hard to snap myself back.

The familiar message rang out immediately afterward. I nodded and added the island rewards I had prepared in advance—vast quantities of magic stones and scrap metal, by-products of an A-rank dungeon boss, plus the original body once used by a B-rank boss. Luxury of this caliber was rare indeed.

Watching every last piece dissolve into motes of light and be sucked into the Book of Summoning, I knew my intention had been fully realized.

I condensed mana into my fingertip. No suitable external form came to mind; every blueprint left by that perverted creator had been female. Recalling the unit that had sat in the island chair and mixing in a touch of my own preference made the mana solidify further. The image was sufficient. The rest depended on the materials. What I wanted was purely future-oriented: enough intelligence to handle the chores I found annoying, enough initiative to fill gaps before I noticed them, and a convenient tool that always performed its share when needed—an immortal companion who could serve as my hands and feet.

Even I thought the wish was a little trashy, but what was wrong with making a machine do the inconvenient work? I was unashamed. The real problem was the weirdos who spun strange fantasies out of such things.

With a light sigh I recalled the name the system had assigned and flicked my mana-laden finger.

Snap!

“Comet.”

Bright light erupted as if answering my call. In its place stood a maid with pale aqua hair and a hidden pink two-tone beneath. The maid impression must have been burned too deeply into me; without thinking I had associated “helpful” with a maid. The uniform’s subtle resemblance to the servants Lee Se-rin employed was because those were the ideal hands and feet I envisioned—neat, unobtrusive, almost like formalwear at a glance, so that even a first-time observer would feel awe rather than rejection.

I was leisurely appraising her from head to toe when the maid before me suddenly opened her eyes.

Opal-like translucent milky-white pupils, within which a faint motion turned as if a camera lens were focusing. Her voice, infinitely close to human yet faintly inorganic from the lack of emotion, rang out clear and bright. Cutely so, more than I had expected. Looking only at her expressionless face one would have imagined something cold or husky.

The moment she recognized me, light gradually filled the previously empty pupils. Yes—expression alone really could transform an impression completely.

“…Ah.”

When our eyes met she offered a soft smile, lifted her skirt hem slightly, and lowered herself in a greeting straight out of an old film. Then, with a far more human expression, she spoke.

“A pleasure to meet you, Master! Being designated as Comet is a true honor!”

Clear, gentle, lingering pleasantly in the ear. The earlier inorganic quality had vanished completely; she was so perfect that distinguishing her from a human would produce no sense of wrongness. Having her read aloud would be healing in itself. The more I looked, the more she pleased me.

Right—thinking about it, there was no need to insist on a male character. One clever man was enough: me.

What I had come to obtain ended here. There might be more, but I would visit other dungeons first, examine them carefully, and return later if I felt like it. Originally I had planned to deal with the boss after the summon, but my mind had changed. She had quietly provided the materials and even given me a long-overdue bit of fun, so I would withdraw as I was. What I did next time was another matter… I decided to write it off as a simple whim.

I cast a sidelong glance at the boss, frozen as if she had witnessed something impossible, and declared the clear.