Chapter 177 : Does a Machine Doll Dream of a Knight? (2)

“The Ultimate Dal holds mandatory control rights over all Automata. Furthermore, even the other Dal cannot help but instinctively submit before it. Whether it's a machine or an artificial body fused with a human, everything that contains the Homunculus's spell formation cannot escape the Ultimate Dal's domination.”

Manuan poured out his words quickly. His eyes, which were merely an illusion, flashed.

“Why else would Panika return to Grimlok, if not to mean that she cannot escape her fate? In other words, it proves that the Ultimate Dal is the perfect new humanity, equipped with a human heart and a machine brain.”

I silently looked at Manuan.

To him, Panika was a being that combined his own blood and his lifelong aspiration.

Honestly, I couldn't even dare to imagine what that weight must be like.

Anyway, what was clear was…….

That Panika was such a huge variable that she could shake even his cold reason.

'He doesn't even know he's fallen into a contradiction himself.'

A moment ago, he called the Ultimate Dal an aggregation of knowledge for humanity, and now he was spouting off about new humanity.

As if she were nothing more than the final piece to complete his revenge.

“If Panika gets her hands on the Machine Heart, she can perfectly control all the Dal and Automata of Grimlok.”

“…….”

“The Ultimate Dal will lead Grimlok's machine legion and punish them all. Be it Deiron, or the Transcendent being……!”

Manuan's expression wavered for a moment. I couldn't determine if it was anger, resignation, or joy.

Perhaps he…….

Was imagining that power not stopping even after the revenge was over, but swallowing the entire world.

“…….”

I just watched silently.

A person's inner thoughts are inherently difficult to know.

Especially if they are someone who holds onto lingering attachments even after death.

Tzzzzt―

The light surrounding the Heavenly Demon subsided.

It seemed the spell formation engraving was finished.

“I wanted Panika to live well and quietly among humans. I mean it.”

I didn't know why, but.

That was the last thing he said to me.

***

“Give it to me. The Machine Heart.”

Noser and Bolero exchanged glances once again.

The Machine Heart happened to be with Bolero.

He crossed his arms with an indifferent face.

“Miss Panika. Your tone is quite grating. For reference, I am a man who is even harsher to women. Watch your mouth.”

“There’s no time.”

“Ah, no time?”

Bolero lifted his chin.

He looked down at Panika, as if crushing her with his gaze.

It was an aggressive posture.

“The Machine Heart, tell me right now how to break it. I won't be at ease until I smash it with my own hands.”

Bolero let out a hot breath. His intuition seemed to be warning him.

That Panika was dangerous right now.

Cling― Cling― Cling― Cling―

The gazes of the three people gathered in one place.

It was the sound of small glass marbles hitting each other.

It was clear and pure to a bizarre degree.

A corner of the lobby, which was like a massive chapel.

A presence approached from the heavily shaded corridor.

Gulp.

Bolero swallowed.

If his intuition had warned him nicely before, this time it was screaming its head off.

That thing was truly dangerous.

“Aah― So that’s what it was? Hmm, so it was―.”

It was a girl's voice. It almost sounded like she was humming.

Noser, who had likewise sensed the ominousness, placed Panika behind him, as if to protect her.

Noser and Bolero instinctively took a stance.

“Don't be so guarded, both of you. It seems we need to talk.”

Cling―

The sound stopped, as if the rolling glass marbles had halted.

What emerged, pushing aside the shadow, was, as expected, a small girl.

She was neatly dressed in a black dress with white lace at the hem.

“Long time no see, Panika?”

One corner of the girl's mouth slowly rose.

The area around her eyes was darkish.

The marks, which looked intentionally applied, exuded a strangely decadent atmosphere.

The imbalance, completely mismatching her innocent smile, sent a chill down Noser's and Bolero's spines.

“It has. Lord.”

Panika stood between Noser and Bolero.

The two men on either side of her widened their eyes.

“Lord?!”

“Of Grimlok?!”

Panika nodded silently. Her eyes, fixed on the Lord, curved playfully.

“Were you working so hard just to end up like that?”

“Like that?”

The Lord slightly lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and spun around in place.

“Watch your mouth. You, who are uglier than me.”

Panika snorted as if in disbelief.

Bolero's and Noser's heads whipped back and forth, looking between the two.

“You know, I somewhat expected it? That the Ultimate Dal might be you, not Rosaria. On the assumption that he could skillfully deceive us, if he could save only one person between his wife and his kid, isn't it a bit obvious?”

“…….”

“What in the world is greater than a parent’s love for their child? Even though I don't have children, I know that much.”

The Lord walked lightly toward the statue where the Machine Heart had been embedded.

With every step, the sound of rolling glass marbles was heard.

“Well……, it was fine either way. In the end, I achieved what I wanted, and I’m happy.”

Slender, pale fingers carefully caressed the statue.

The statue was not simply a twisted human form.

It was a kind of self-anamorphosis, an intentionally distorted version of her past self.

“……Why did you come back, Panika?”

The Lord’s eyes glinted sharply for an instant.

Her moist pupils were like rubies made from compacted blood.

“Lord. Before that, let me ask just one thing.”

“By all means.”

“Were you always this kind of person and just hid it, or……”

Panika’s voice trembled slightly.

“Did you change because you became a Dal?”

Bolero’s and Noser’s eyes narrowed at the same time.

The conversation between the two was impossible to follow.

“Well? What kind of person was the me you knew, and what's different now?”

“You were a cool and smart man.”

Bolero’s and Noser’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“Even though you were fat and even bald, and even though you didn't know anything about alchemy…… a person’s appearance and wisdom aren't things that can be judged by that.”

“…….”

“If what made you like this, Lord, was because of the Dal, then I... think I’d feel much more at ease.”

“Yooou―!”

The Lord yelled. The shrill voice echoed indoors.

“……You didn't come for revenge, did you?”

Silence fell between Panika and the Lord.

Bolero and Noser needlessly straightened their postures.

Killing intent seemed to shimmer in the surroundings.

Clap―

The Lord clapped.

The sound of wheels rolling came from the distance, and soon an Automaton stopped in front of her.

The Automaton wore an apron and held a tray with both hands.

On the tray, something covered by a thin mesh cloth was fluttering.

The Lord neurotically swept off the mesh cloth and roughly grabbed what was inside.

A winged dwarf screamed.

“Save me―”

Kwaduk!

The Lord bit off the winged dwarf's head.

Then she grabbed both wings and greedily devoured the rest of the body.

“…….”

“Ha……”

Bolero and Noser froze on the spot.

The Lord licked the purplish body fluid smeared around her mouth.

She squinted her eyes.

“Damn it. I was in the middle of losing weight.”

It was then.

Guuuuuung―

A heavy mechanical sound roared.

A faint tremor also occurred.

Bolero, Noser, and Panika simultaneously snapped their gazes upward.

The arched ceiling cracked, and then even the walls disappeared as if being peeled away.

In an instant, the Lord's mansion had evaporated entirely.

“Wh-What is this……!”

Noser and Bolero gasped. Amidst the unbelievable sight, their eyes, filled with astonishment, trembled.

Dal and the Automata they led were surrounding them on all sides.

“Panika? It’s really Panika, isn’t it?”

“To think the Ultimate Dal was Panika. You fooled us well, Manuan!”

There was a Dal with lumps of iron plastered onto a human body, and conversely, there was a Dal with human parts sparsely mixed into a machine exterior.

It was not uncommon for all traces of a human to have disappeared entirely.

“Explain what this situation is as quickly as possible, Panika.”

Of course, in Noser's and Bolero's eyes, they just looked like monsters mixed with Demonic Beasts and humans.

The gazes of the two men turned to one side.

Another foul sound scraped their eardrums.

Eujeok, eujeok.

It was a Dal whose face was half human, the other half a lump of iron.

He was tearing at a plant shaped like a flower bud with his teeth, as if it were candy.

“If you were going to obediently say why you returned, you wouldn't have caused such a commotion. Right?”

In an instant, his other arm stretched out long.

“Sorry, Panika! Whatever your purpose is, we have no intention of meekly following your will!”

Shushushuk!

The extended arm flew fiercely like a snake aiming for the nape of Panika's neck.

“Where do you think―!”

Bolero snatched the arm. Dal's hand trembled in his grip.

Pajijijik!

A blue flash sparked from Dal's arm.

Bolero's eyes rolled back as he convulsed.

“Eugeugeugeu―”

“B-Bolero!”

Kaang! Kang! Kang!

Noser immediately swung his sword, striking Dal's arm. But the arm didn't budge.

“Damn it! Let go, Bolero! You'll become a roasted chicken at this rate!”

Ting―

Just then, a clear sound rang out. The Machine Heart that Bolero had been clutching in his other hand had rolled onto the floor.

While Noser flinched, Panika quickly reached out and snatched the Machine Heart.

“No, I didn't mean to let go of that……!”

It was the moment Noser was lamenting.

Seogeok―!

A streak of light flashed through the air, severing the Dal's arm in a single strike.

Then, a fluttering shadow flew from the air and landed lightly in front of the group.

Pushiii―

Hazy smoke rose from Bolero's fallen body.

I stared down at the sight.

It wasn't a fatal wound, but I felt sorry for Bolero, who had been suffering in many ways lately.

***

I didn't know exactly what the situation was, but…….

'Well, is there really a need to know the details.'

The Dal leading the Automata were surrounding the three people.

Even though the fortress's defensive spell formation circuits were neutralized, the Automata they controlled directly seemed unaffected. Like a private army.

'The problem is…….'

The Grotesque creatures detained by them.

They had all been moving busily somewhere as if evacuating, but it seemed they were caught.

Among them, I just had to run into them.

'Toma and Mangul.'

I knew for sure through Manuan's recollection.

These Grotesque creatures are the Dal's food.

They are prey, raised in herds for their survival, to be caught and eaten whenever needed.

“What’s this now? Panika, you brought quite a lot of friends, didn’t you?”

Some kid was jabbering.

She gave off an atmosphere of being the leader, so I turned my body toward her and was on guard, when Noser muttered quietly beside me.

“That kid is supposedly Grimlok's Lord.”

“……?”

The kid was clearly a Dal.

The Lord of Grimlok did not have a family.

That means―

'Crazy.'

I was in the midst of feeling nauseated.

“The diary, did you see it?”

It was Panika.

I readily nodded my head.

“Yes.”

And I immediately asked back.

“What are you going to do now, Panika?”

My question unintentionally brought a chilling silence.

The jabbering pervert Lord and the bizarre Dal squirming on all sides shut their mouths at once.

They all stared at Panika, as if they, too, had been wondering.

“Aren't you curious?”

It was a question thrown at me.

Panika was looking down at something sparkling on her palm.

I knew instinctively. It was the Machine Heart.

“What the real Ultimate Dal truly is.”

To put it grandly, the treasury of human knowledge.

To put it a little more concretely, a perfect machine doll?

'A perfect machine doll…….'

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like ridiculous wordplay.

Could there be such a thing as perfection in a mere machine?

Does not deviating from the design's intent and not causing defects mean it's perfect?

For instance, not needing to have a bizarre diet.

“Well.”

Not thinking deeply is my specialty.

“You're absurdly strong, but you're not that smart. You.”

“What?”

It was the moment our eyes met.

Gulp.

Panika swallowed the Machine Heart.