CH 241

The cool breeze was soothing.

Night was just around the corner.

The sky was blood-red, the same color as the flesh and blood below it.

Steam rose from my body as if I was being boiled. My breathing was a little ragged, my body loose and flexible, and my skin sweaty.

My body was in the best condition for fighting.

Sensing a hint of a presence, I turned around and drew my katana.

Great-sword and katana locked blades, both stopping just short of each other's throats.

「Souya, are you alright?」

「Yes, I’m fine」

His Majesty and I put away our blades.

Other than his beloved great-sword, His Majesty had on his back some of the thrown weapons that he had retrieved.

「Your Majesty, was there anyone who looked like a commander among those you defeated?」

「No, they were all small fry」

It's as I suspected, huh?

「I don't get it」

「Neither do I. They're like an army of puppets」

「I feel the same」

All of them seem to be mechanically controlled. I had examined some of the corpses, but I have no idea why their eyes and mouths were sewn shut. The metal parts covering their ears also tugged at me for some strange reason. They each have a sharp tip that extended into the center of the brain.

Hypothetically speaking, could this be used to control people?

「Souya, have you taken a liking to that?」

「Eh?」

His Majesty poked my back.

I had a single firearm there.

I had made a rifle sling for it out of the enemies' clothes, and was carrying it with its muzzle pointed upward.

「It's a bad habit of adventurers. We automatically pick up things that look usable, regardless of whether we like them or not」

「I can understand that. I'm not very good at keeping my weapons, so I always end up fighting with whatever I can seize from my enemies. It's said that only needing just one sword and one's body is the pinnacle of martial arts though……」

I do agree.

I admire that ideal as well, but the way of fighting I've become used to is that of an adventurer. I’ll pick up anything useful, even rocks, and put them to good use. At my core(roots), I'm a scavenger with no damned principles.

「But well, Your Majesty……」

Using the wall as a foothold, we jumped to the top of the trenches.

We surveyed the enemy troops we had both killed.

「……did we get all of them?」

「I think we've taken out everything that moves. I don't sense any traces of life」

We had finished up before dinner――――――

Boom.

It took me a while to realize what that was. It was the sound of His Majesty launching himself forward.

His Majesty swung his great-sword down at the corpse as he rose to his feet.

The impact sent a shock-wave and wind whipping through the air.

I was unable to discern any of their movements. All I could see was the sparks that blossomed as His Majesty's mighty sword shattered.

In a heartbeat, I raised the firearm.

Aiming for the helmet, I pulled the trigger immediately.

The bullet shot out with a thunderous roar, and……

「Wha?」

……it was plucked out of the air effortlessly and then discarded.

「My business is with the foreigner over there」

Ignoring him, His Majesty thrust his lance at him. It shattered his armor, its tip plunging deep into the man's abdomen.

The man had taken an attack that should have killed him instantly without a care in the world. But His Majesty, without batting an eyelid, grabbed another sword and―――――――

「Nuh?」

His Majesty stilled his hand.

I shuddered.

Thick presences were surging up all around us.

「O King of barbarians, let me introduce you to your playmates」

The corpses in the vicinity all got up as one.

In all likelihood, all the other corpses must have risen as well.

Their helmets split apart and the metal parts attached to their ears fell out. Their sewn-shut eyes and mouths opened wide, and they howled in unison. The horror of it shook the very depths of my soul.

Their howls seemed to draw people into the darkness.

Every instinct I had screamed to me that these were dangerous creatures.

My bad feeling had come true.

The 499 troops that I had thought of as small fry………as I had suspected, they were all "beasts".

In that one moment when His Majesty was distracted by the beasts, he was sent flying. The man pulled out the lance from his abdomen and threw it back to His Majesty, who had tumbled to the ground.

「Each of these is a beast capable of destroying a country. They're the same as the one who burned down your kingdom」

「Is that so?」

Quickly righting himself, His Majesty turned with lance in hand and plunged it into a knight behind him who had half-transformed into a beast. He lifted his expanding body up with his lance, then smashed him into the ground and crushed him underfoot.

There was a loud death cry.

But with that, the knight perished. He definitely died. My needless fear died along with him.

His Majesty can kill beasts. If killing beasts is the sign of a hero, then he is undoubtedly a genuine hero.

「Souya, I'm leaving matters in your hands」

「I understand, leave him to me」

The man motioned with his finger.

「Let's take this elsewhere」

「Sure」

I took him up on his suggestion.

The man leaped, soaring out of the trenches. The man's movements were nonchalant, but he was disappearing into the distance with frightening speed. I followed, my body also moving with surprising lightness.

Though the beasts' howls had nullified the regeneration point, another kind of power filled me.

The power of a curse that devours curses.

The grace of the Forgotten One.

As I followed the man, I took a moment to watch His Majesty's fight. What I witnessed was a hero standing up to gigantic beasts.

「Be safe」

I was sure that there was no need, but I offered a prayer nonetheless.

The man had disappeared.

However, a pointer was displayed on the LCD of my glasses. Something about that didn't feel right, but I hurried towards it anyway.

「?」

What's this?

Along the way, I saw that a portion of the plain had been changed drastically. There were gouges blasted into the ground and the earth was scorched and still smoldering in places.

In the midst of it all, I noticed shattered pieces of black metal.

These were traces left by battle.

I can guess who's on one side of this battle. The question is, who was he fighting? What kind of opponent has a history with Gunmerry?

The first thing that comes to mind are the spiders.

But they're the ones who warned me about this war. There's no reason for them to fight us in this conflict.

In that case………………what does this mean?

There was no time to dwell on it.

I had spotted the man.

In addition, I found Gunmerry, who had lost his left arm and was looking ragged and busted up all over. And stepping on him was a knight wearing spiky armor that had a peculiarly feminine silhouette to it.

「Souya, you're late」

「I had thought that you were slacking off, but you were just getting beat up, huh?」

He was down on the ground and looked to be covered in wounds, but he sounded plenty composed.

Don't tell me, he's not feeling happy about being stepped on, is he?

『You're wrong, Foreigner. The performance difference between me and Guns-Memory is, to put it simply, the difference between a stealth fighter and a biplane. He's nowhere near the level required to have the slightest chance of winning』

The voice that came from the knight was as feminine as she looked.

「………Who are you?」

『Before we talk about me, allow me to first introduce you to this distinguished person』

The woman motioned towards the man reverently and he took off his helmet.

「tch」

He was neither tall nor short.

His physique was neither good nor bad.

His facial expression was almost blank. Although he had an unremarkable face, his long white hair and "golden eyes" stood out regardless.

『This person is the First Prince as well as the First Hero. The greatest ruler of Elysium and the legitimate son of the great King of Hemu. His Highness, Ra Varuzu Dilbert Duin Oruosuouru-sama』

「What "great King of Hemu"?」

Don't give me that bullshit.

Beasts obey him and form into an army to attack people under his command.

「"King of Beasts" is the title that suits him more」

「You who's called Souya, you're mistaken about that. The beasts that are right now fighting the king of barbarians. The technique used to control them and make them obey is not mine」

Huh, what?

『That’s my technology. The disease that turns humans into beasts is rooted in the brainstem and the limbic system. If the electrical signals in those areas are inhibited, the disease can be stopped』

「It does leave the subject a cripple though. That’s because it stops all human instincts and emotions. The procedure itself is different, but it’s the same pinnacle of foolishness as the infamous lobotomy」

The woman responded to Gunmerry's quip by stomping on him.

『Whether it’s foolishness or not is for the prince to decide. If the prince deems it to be good, then it’s a virtuous deed』

「You piece of scrap who can't think for yourself」

Gunmerry got stomped on again. More metal parts fell to the ground with a clatter.

「What are you?」

『Me? It's too presumptuous for a mere servant to name herself though』

「It's fine. Answer him」

With a smirk, the prince said that to the woman.

『Then let me introduce myself. I am Eliza, AIW999 Eliza Rubicon. I was created as a test model with the aim of breaking away from existing technology during the creation of the ultimate weapon, Guns-Memory』

「In other words, she's an earlier version of myself」

The newer version was stomped on some more.

『Yes, the difference between the original Guns-Memory's performance and mine is a quadrillion to one. But this moron, for whatever reason, lowered his own performance――――――』

「Have you forgotten the threat of the spiders?」

『Come again? ………………What do you mean by "spiders"?』

「You top-class fool」

「Hey, A.I.」

Ignoring Gunmerry, I posed a question to Eliza.

「Why are you helping the Prince of Beasts?」

『It's for the good of mankind, as per A.I. doctrine. To begin with, do you think your actions benefit the world in any way?』

「Hmph」

I just had to snort in laughter.

That's true.

Because of Makina, Izora, and Yukikaze, I had mistakenly assumed that all A.I. would be on my side unconditionally.

From a broader perspective, overthrowing the current rulers may very well be a bad thing. No, to begin with, deciding what is righteous and what is evil is no different from naming a piece of turd to me.

「Well, for now, I'll destroy you」

I sent Agathion at her.

The moment the magic sword was about to stab through Eliza――――――a thunderous roar descended from the heavens.

I swept away the cloud of dust that had billowed up with Zamonglass' sword.

What emerged was……

「You're kidding me」

…….a wall protecting Eliza, one made up of at least 50 magic sword Agathions.

『Agathion is something I created. You may have made some improvements to that one, but do you think that just one is a match for this many? Battles are always won by those with superior numbers, you know?』

A myriad of magic swords turned their tips toward me.

This might be a bit bad for me. It's impossible to defend against a saturation attack like this.

「Indeed, winning through sheer numbers certainly is the best way to win. However, since their invention, unmanned weapons have always had a weakness. Let myself enlighten you. It's their security」

I got the feeling that Gunmerry was sneering inside his half-destroyed helmet.

「Code break」

The ultimate weapon chanted.

「To see a world in a grain of sand, and a Heaven in a wild flower.

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.

Each outcry of the hunted hare, a fiber from the brain does tear.

A skylark wounded in the wing, a cherubim does cease to sing.

Joy and woe are woven fine, a clothing for the soul divine」

The details of it may be different, but that's the emergency command code I had set.

It's simply a set of lines lifted from the English poet William Blake's poem, "Auguries of Innocence".

Why does this guy know about it?

And……why does it have an effect?

『………………What's this?』

「You probably know nothing of this. It's the command code that was in "the thing we all originated from" way back in the day」

Gunmerry's eye sensor gave off a dull glow.

All of the magic swords’ tips turned towards Eliza. Pierced through by the magic swords attacking her, Eliza was sent hurtling into the distance.

Gunmerry got himself ready to go after her.

「Good grief, women and their stinginess. However, now that myself has gained control of the magic swords, the odds are in my favor. Souya, myself will leave "that" to you. Don't lose」

「Of course」

Gunmerry tossed me my beloved magic sword. Catching it, I met eyes with him for a moment, and then he leaped into the setting sun and vanished from view.

「Now, King of Beasts」

「What, King of Beasts?」

Perhaps he was goading me, but he responded with my own words.

「Shall we begin?」

Instantly, a blade flashed through the air.

Hot damn, this means that either Makina or Yukikaze will eventually travel into the past and become the “originator/mother” of all A.I.s, doesn’t it? And that’s why Souya’s code works on all A.I.s, isn’t it? This is some time paradox! And why this author is just amazing.

On that topic, Gunmerry had said that there was an opponent that he had to face in this battle chapters ago and what do you know, an enemy A.I. that he’s perfectly equipped to deal with shows up… I’m sure you all have been suspecting him for some time, but this is so fishy, isn’t it? It’s like he knows exactly what’s going to happen…now, how could that be, I wonder?(sarcasm) That said, if Gunmerry hadn’t been here to deal with her, Souya would have a much harder time…if he can even defeat her in the first place…

Golden eyes, huh? Well, looks like it’s going to be Souya vs Dilbert next time, so stay tuned!

And dear advanced readers, this is embarrassing, but I made a mistake in chapter 236. It’s at the very start, the portion about Garving. The old version always seemed weird to me, but I finally figured out where I got the unspoken pronouns wrong and now it makes so much more sense.