Chapter 171 : Homunculus (5)

“Hoo? This is clearly anger. Why would a slave have such an emotion, one that was castrated long ago…?”

The chicken head’s glistening black eyes widened for a moment.

“……Don’t tell me!”

The back of my head tingled.

I quickly turned around, and it seemed like everyone at the table was looking this way.

Among them, one person particularly stood out.

A coral reef person approaching with angry steps.

It almost seemed like he was running.

Panika shouted.

“Dodge! Quickly!”

It was a split second.

The coral reef person’s body swelled, and a whitish light seeped through the cracked shell.

‘Self-destruction!’

I drew Zahara in a reverse grip and quickly moved to the chicken head’s side.

The chicken head convulsed.

“It was a mutant?! It can’t be an intruder….”

Slice!

The chicken head dropped to the floor.

Fortunately, that was the end of it.

Although it was brief, there were no signs of regeneration like with the demonic beasts.

Then, I immediately took care of the chicken head next to the sack…….

Kwa—ang!

A tremendous impact struck me from behind with a deafening roar.

I quickly hugged the sack and threw myself towards the inside of the bar.

·

·

·

Thud—

My vision was blurry from the dust.

The sound of dirt clods falling was eerily loud.

‘To blow up the entire building just like that.’

There was no rhyme or reason to it. Was there no sanity at all?

‘This isn’t a matter of sanity in the first place.’

I finally understood.

This was not a place that could be judged by human standards.

‘The only way to deal with madmen is to go mad with them.’

I steeled my resolve.

Leaning against the wall, I checked my body first.

Fortunately, I was unharmed.

After swallowing once, I opened the sack.

Likewise, the boy was safe.

He was repeatedly blinking his wet eyes.

As soon as I hastily removed the gag—

‘……Damn it, what is this now?’

Where his mouth should have been, there was only an empty hole.

Flick—

A chill ran down my spine.

A long, thin tongue extended from the hole.

It was as if it was thanking me.

He said nothing.

No, it seemed he didn’t even know how to speak in the first place.

Shhh—

The boy glanced towards the back of the wall, in the direction of the hall, then placed both hands on the ground and crawled out of the sack.

His lower body, now revealed, was not legs. It was a thick tail. Like that of a reptile.

My body froze in astonishment and shock…….

Shashashak—

The reptile boy disappeared into the darkness as if being sucked in.

“……Ha.”

The breath I had been holding finally escaped in a burst.

I barely managed to gather my scattered wits before turning my head towards the hall.

I couldn't feel any presence.

I stood up and went to check.

“Cough—”

The hall was completely burned out.

Dust and the smell of burning ashes pierced my throat.

The melted pillars were reduced to mere skeletons, and dust and charred smoke billowed up from the holes in the ceiling.

‘It’s become a total mess in an instant.’

The automata and grotesque creatures were all charred black, their forms barely recognizable.

Their flesh had disappeared, and even the iron and bones had melted into a gooey mess.

Crunch.

A sound was made every time I took a step.

It was the sound of charcoal crumbling.

The floor was nothing but black charcoal and debris.

‘Panika.’

There was no trace of her anywhere.

Surely she hadn't been turned to ashes.

‘No.’

The moment of the explosion, I had instinctively turned my head to look.

The coral reef guy had exploded in the center of the hall.

It was some distance from where Panika and I had been standing.

Splat—

I picked up the body of the chicken-foot eyeball, which had been closer to the coral reef guy than Panika.

The charred body stretched out long like sticky pus.

‘…….’

If she had been caught in the explosion, there would have been traces, whether it was blood or a part of her body.

I had to assume she had been lucky enough to escape.

Clang.

Just then. My neck suddenly felt cold.

Clang.

A heavy echo of clashing metal.

It sounded like slow footsteps.

I turned my head.

‘A knight?’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

His physique was far superior to that of an ordinary person, and his sturdy entire body was tightly wrapped in plate armor.

The surface of the plate armor, enveloped in a haze of dust, gleamed dazzlingly in the shade.

Shhhh—

Every time his body moved, steam poured out from the gaps in his visor along with a gurgling metallic sound.

His breath was endlessly cold and inorganic.

“For a lump of iron to breathe. That’s surprising.”

I stared into the void beyond the plate armor.

Only emptiness resided there.

A hollow breath escaped me on its own.

“A metal wraith.”

As if in answer to my question, a red glow suddenly emanated from within his helmet.

It was like a handful of embers nestled in the empty void.

Chakang!

He rested the greatsword he held in one hand on his pauldron.

There was a lot obscuring my view, so I hadn't seen it properly, but now that I did, the greatsword was as big as my own body.

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

He charged straight at me.

Every time his sabatons stamped down, the floor cracked and dust rained down from the ceiling.

It was enough to make my vision shake.

Swoosh—!

I dodged to the side.

I didn’t even think of blocking.

The sound of the greatsword cutting through the air was brutal.

I immediately swung Heavenly Demon.

Towards the arm of the one holding the greatsword.

Ka—ang!

Heavenly Demon’s betrayal.

I thought I could cut it, but I was wrong.

The tingling vibration that traveled up my palm made my skull numb.

Kwaduk!

He grabbed Heavenly Demon, which was stuck in his couter, and charged forward in that state. He was about to push through with his entire body.

Kiiiing—!

I pulled my arm with all my might to retrieve Heavenly Demon.

Sparks flew wildly as the blade scraped against his gauntlet.

Heavenly Demon’s blade was intact. Any other sword would have been completely shattered.

I lifted my eyes. I saw the back of the one who had brushed past me.

‘Impervious to swords, is that it?’

I gripped the hilt with both hands and pulled it back behind my head with all my might.

Hot breath scattered outside my lips.

‘Whatever, I’ll cut you down.’

I swung with all my might.

The cast iron split like paper.

Clank—

The man’s torso fell in two pieces.

As expected, it was empty inside.

Blue sparks crackled and popped along the severed edge.

‘So it was an automaton.’

I was just catching my breath.

Kwaang!

I rolled forward just before the impact hit.

As the dust gradually cleared, the epicenter of the explosion became visible.

Beyond the completely collapsed wall, black figures were slowly revealing themselves.

Chakang— Chakang—

They were the same metal wraiths as the one I had just cut down.

This time, they were in a unit.

Giiing.

Red lights lit up simultaneously from the gaps in their helmets.

Gulp.

I readjusted my grip on Heavenly Demon.

Other than sweeping them away all at once with Sword Aura, I couldn’t think of any other way.

Thud.

The center of the formation of metal wraiths that had broken down the entire wall of the building and stormed in. One of them extended its arm as if aiming at me.

From the palm of its outstretched gauntlet, a small light swirled and condensed fiercely.

A metallic sound hummed, and even vibrations were added.

‘……!’

My eyes widened.

The vortex erupting from the metal wraith’s palm seemed to suck in its surroundings.

The strange and alien sight brought back a long-buried memory.

‘Absorption!’

Absorption and emission.

A basic principle that often appears in Imperial swordsmanship, and a technique that must be mastered to wield a high level of swordsmanship.

‘He said it absorbs Aura as nourishment.’

At the same time, Panika’s words flashed through my mind.

I immediately reined in the Sword Aura just before releasing it.

A faint sigh escaped me.

To think that the familiar subtlety of swordsmanship came to mind after seeing the unfamiliar movements of a machine…….

‘I was lucky.’

The unlikely combination coincidentally clicked and the forgotten warning flashed back to life.

‘Finding Panika is more urgent than destroying those things.’

I stabbed Heavenly Demon into the ground.

‘Quake Earth.’

Kugugugu—!

The ground trembled.

The building, already half in ruins, couldn't withstand the impact and soon began to collapse completely.

In the meantime, I got out of the building.

The tunnel Talpa dug must have collapsed eventually.

Now even the way back was gone.

***

Did I get an answer when I asked Panika about the people of Grimlok?

No, not in my memory.

I understand now.

I even thought that Panika had deliberately avoided answering.

It made sense.

The buildings and streets were still there, but there were no people to be seen anywhere.

It was as if such beings had disappeared long ago.

The city was like a corpse that had been left abandoned for years after being swept by a plague.

Gooooo—

The dry wind smelled of iron.

Above me, a reddish sky spread out like a festering wound.

‘……What should I do about this?’

At this rate, I couldn't even find a trace of Panika, let alone the control unit.

I would ask if there were any people around.

Creak, creak.

Long, ominous shadows stretched across every alley.

In one corner, discarded automata were piled up.

[Str—ong—. Machi— —ne. Alche—and ma—.]

A voice filled with a metallic rasp.

It was clearly audible because the surroundings were so quiet.

It was coming from a pile of rusted scrap metal.

[—scended light, per—fect flesh, perfect— harmony, perfect li—fe.]

It was unpleasant to hear.

It was like scratching my eardrums.

It was repeating over and over again.

[Descended—. —praise. Str—ong—. Praise—.]

I wanted to stomp on it and break it, but I had to refrain from doing anything that would attract attention because of the occasional wandering automata.

First, I had to find Panika.

Let's try to track her by recalling the mana I saw earlier.

I opened the Ghost Eye.

‘……Damn it.’

A sigh escaped me immediately.

The surroundings were completely submerged in mana.

With the Ghost Eye, mana appeared blue, so the surroundings shimmered as if I were submerged in water.

‘Automata are a combination of machine and magic, he said.’

I closed the Ghost Eye again.

I scratched my head vigorously.

[Perfect— light, —fect flesh, perfect —mony, —fect life.]

It's practically begging to be beaten up.

The moment my eyes snapped towards the source of the noise.

“Ah……!”

It was a person.

Perhaps because I had only been smelling iron, I could even smell human flesh at once.

It was an old woman who met my eyes.

She was heading towards the discarded automata that were repeating the strange sounds.

She seemed like someone who had been inside and came out because she couldn't stand the noise.

The problem was that she suddenly freaked out when she saw me.

“Hiek!”

“Wait a minute!”

The old woman immediately ran up the stairs and slammed the door.

I could hear the sound of the latch being repeatedly fastened from inside.

“Hey! What’s wrong? Let’s just talk for a moment…….”

“G-go away! I saw nothing!”

“No, what is that…….”

“I don't want to talk to you! Go away! Before the Legions come!”

The old woman beyond the door was completely terrified.

Her voice trembled violently with extreme fear.

It seemed like she would pass out if I spoke to her any further.

Clank—

Just then, I heard a heavy metallic sound from behind.

At the end of the desolate street, a metallic figure was slowly revealing itself.

It was like a ghost serenely crossing the middle of the ruined city.

“L-look! Look! It came! It’s the Legion! Kyaak! This is all your fault!”

It was the old woman.

It seemed she could see the street from inside.

“Is that iron lump called Legion?”

“Wh-what are you……! Why are you suddenly appearing and doing this! I’ve done nothing wrong!”

A rational conversation was impossible.

I kept my eyes on the Legion and leaned my back against the door.

“Tell me where the control unit is. If you tell me obediently, I promise not to say a word about you.”

“……Y-you monster! So you were a minion sent by the Homunculus! Even after all of you die, you won't be satisfied until you take our lives?! Ahh, how horrible—!”

The Legion was moving slowly but surely towards me.

The good thing was that there was still some distance.

“There’s no time. Speak up, where is the control unit!”

“Damn Homunculus! As if ruining Grimlok wasn't enough, you sent minions from hell?! Cursed things! We all became like this because of you! Kyaaaaaak! Get lost—!”

A banging noise echoed from inside. Damn it, the negotiation has broken down.

Cheokeong—

I readjusted my grip on Heavenly Demon.

Dealing with that thing wouldn't be difficult.

The problem was that their numbers kept increasing.

—The mutant automata in Grimlok are one giant legion. Unlike people, they don’t need to be informed one by one; a single command from the control unit is enough for them to move in perfect unison. Like an organism.

Now that I've experienced it, I understand. What she meant.

Ssssst—

My eyes turned to a sound I heard nearby.

The moment I looked in that direction, my body flinched without me realizing it.

“You are…….”

It was the reptile boy I had saved from the bar.

He was lying flat on the ground at the corner of the alley, looking at me.

He had a flowerpot on his head, and in the flowerpot, a single, unopened bud was growing.

“Come this way. I will repay you for saving me.”

……Surprisingly, it was the bud that spoke.