2
Imperial territory.
Twenty-first Glasnacht.
They were within sixty miles of the Imperial capital, the last stop of the limited-express train.
“Ahh, I’m so tired…”
Mismis, who was splayed out on a bench in the station, let out a long sigh and rolled over.
“Even a nice private car is tiring when you’re being rocked around all night by a train… The capital is so far away…”
“It’s right in front of us,” Jhin said, standing next to the bench Mismis was lying on. He glanced at the train stopped at the platform. “After we leave this station, it’s straight to the capital.”
“…Huh?”
As he watched the conversation out of the corner of his eye, Iska glanced around the terminal. Only Commander Mismis, Jhin, and he were in the station area. Nene and Sisbell, who had been with them, weren’t present. And Risya was gone, too.
“I don’t see the others, Commander.”
“Oh, Risya said she had something to do, so she left the station. She said she would come back before the train leaves.”
“Then what about Sisbell and Nene?”
“…I’m…over here…”
Sisbell, who was looking rather pale, alighted from the train.
She was leaning on Nene’s shoulder and looking as sick as an employee suffering from a terrible hangover after a night out. She staggered and teetered on her way over to a bench.
“…It’s motion sickness… Oh, Miss Nene, I’m so sorry for imposing.”
Then she collapsed onto the bench—incidentally, falling on top of Commander Mismis, who was still sitting there as well.
“Gah?!”
“Oh…Commander Mismis. What are you doing lying about here? Someone might sit on you. You must be careful.”
“You already have sat on me! Your butt was right on my face!”
Commander Mismis leaped up. Just then, the comm in her handbag rang softly.
“…Huh? Who is it from?”
It could have been headquarters. Or perhaps Risya, who was outside the station. Though that was what Mismis thought, when she brought her face up to the screen…
“Yes, this is Mismis—”
“You’re late. You haven’t arrived at the capital yet?”
“Yeeeek?!” Mismis’s voice cracked as she jumped back.
She almost flung the comm into the air with the force of her leap. It was little wonder she did this, because the person on the other end wasn’t actually a human.
It was a silver-furred beastperson.
Of course Commander Mismis would be surprised to see that.
“Uh…ngh…um, uh…well!”
“Ah-ha-ha. Did I frighten you? Am I really that scary looking?”
Lord Yunmelngen.
Despite their uncanny appearance, Lord Yunmelngen seemed to be in a mischievous mood and found her reaction fairly entertaining.
“And Princess Sisbell is coming, right?”
“I—I am right here!”
Sisbell, who had been sitting down, opened her eyes wide very suddenly. She brought her face close to the screen, almost as though she were taking the Lord in through her eyes.
“I won’t run or hide! We’re due to arrive in the capital soon…um, uh, yes, right. We’re currently at the twenty-second Glasmach.”
“You mean the twenty-first Glasnacht. You got every bit of that wrong.”
“Sh-shut up, Jhin… More importantly, Your Excellency?”
“What is it?”
“Is Rin all right?” Sisbell ground her teeth. “I have heard you desire my powers. For this trade, I have one condition. You must ensure Rin’s safety—”
“I’ll show her to you right now.”
“Yes?”
The screen switched over—to a certain brown-haired girl sitting next to the Lord.
“Rin?!”
“Lady Sisbell!”
“Rin, are you safe?!”
“I’m not being manhandled here. I’ve been released from my handcuffs as long as I stay in this room…but.”
Rin clenched her jaw as she faced Sisbell.
“I am not pleased about being made a plaything. Lady Sisbell, you needn’t worry about me. Please prioritize your well-being fir—”
“There, checkmate.”
“What?! Why, you little—!”
On the other side of the camera, there was some sort of commotion, and the screen turned back to the Lord.
“That’s thirty-one wins for me. Really, you’re all bark.”
“Why, you little—! You coward! How dare you move the pieces while I was talking to Lady Sisbell! How on earth are you the leader of the Empire?”
“Ahh… You really don’t know how to insult people, do you?”
“What did you say?! Again! I’ll wipe that grin off your face this time—”
“Rin?”
As she looked at the prisoner beyond the screen, Sisbell sighed loudly. She looked absolutely exhausted.
“You seem awfully relaxed for a captive. The train is about to leave, so I’m going to hang up now. I hope you remain this spirited.”
“See, what did I tell you? You don’t need to worry at all, Princess Sisbell.”
A can of soda in hand, Risya slowly made her way over.
“Oh, you can hang up now. I’m sure you’ve noticed that the captive is doing well enough on the other end.”
“……Yes. She was doing so well, it was somewhat of a letdown.”
She tossed the comm back to Mismis and sighed.
“I almost feel like leaving Rin behind and returning to the Sovereignty.”
“Now that would be an issue. Come over here.”
Risya gestured to her to come close. She was pointing at the stopped train on the platform…or rather, at the ticket gate beyond it.
“I rented a car. So let’s get going.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
Sisbell ignored Mismis’s complaints and gave a sharp gaze to Risya.
“Aren’t we headed to the capital? We should only be a few hours away by train.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then where are you planning on taking me in that car?”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, why are you acting like I’m a villain?” Risya dismissively waved her hand. “We are heading to the capital, of course. I just have a little stop to make on the way.”
“Where?”
“…”
Risya snickered. The Lord’s staff officer couldn’t hold back her mean-spirited smile.
“Do you remember Kelvina, that mad scientist who had you held captive?”
“How could I forget?”
“What would you say if I told you she had another laboratory?”
“What?!”
“We’ll talk in the car. Oh, come now, Isk, don’t look so grim. Or you, Jhin-Jhin, Nene, and Mismis.”
After saying only that, Risya walked out of the ticket gate in high spirits.
“Wh-what should we do?”
“There’s nothing to debate about,” Jhin answered Sisbell in a wearied tone. “We’ve got an errand to run before we head to the capital. I’m sure this is one of the Lord’s conditions, so he won’t mind the excursion.”
“I’m not very interested in doing anything except saving Rin.” Sisbell crossed her arms. “It’s creepy that she still has research facilities around. Her research is sacrilege to the astral powers. I cannot turn a blind eye as a Sovereign princess, so I must crush them to smithereens. And by ‘I must,’ I mean Iska must, of course.”
“Me?!”
“I’m not any good at fighting. So I must count on you.”
“How nice to have an excuse, I see.”
“All right, we’re off!” Sisbell gallantly walked forward. Following after her strawberry-blond hair, which lightly fluttered behind her, Iska walked through the station’s ticket gate.
An hour later.
They were in the back seat of the rental car.
“Risya, or whatever your name is…”
“What is it, Princess Sisbell?”
“Where is this hideout? After being jostled about in the car for over an hour, all I see around us are skyscrapers.”
“I suppose it must be disguised, then. It’s probably hidden in a building.”
“Probably…?”
“I just found out about it earlier, too, from a message. Oh, Nens, turn right at the crossing about a hundred yards ahead.”
Risya was sitting in the shotgun seat, giving instructions to Nene, who was driving.
“Look, Mismis, do you remember? There were all sorts of suspicious computers in the underground area of the research facility you guys found.”
“Oh, right! But we didn’t have time to look at them since we were searching for Sisbell.”
“You were right to avoid touching them. If you had gotten the password wrong, the whole place would have exploded.”
“Eep?!”
“So we mobilized the Imperial forces’ Intelligence Service. They very carefully retrieved data from the computers—”
“And figured out there was another hideout. And that’s where we’re headed.”
Jhin was staring out the car window. His silver hair, which was smoothed back, ruffled as the wind rushed through the half-open window. “But what’s going on with the rest of it, Saint Disciple? You’ve got to have an idea of how dangerous the research facility is, right?”
“…”
“So?”
“I think it’ll be bad.”
“……Hm.” Jhin raised his eyebrows.
Though she spoke casually as usual, there was an unusual heaviness to her words.
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, you’re a lifesaver, Isk.”
She looked at him through the rearview mirror of the car.
“Give it your all when you fight. I’m not really well equipped for battle, even if I’m part of the Saint Disciples.”
“I’d really rather not…”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“…”
The question didn’t require an answer. They would need a Saint Disciple’s abilities in combat. That implied a foe who Risya could not handle alone was lying in wait.
This was what she meant by “bad.”
Mismis and Nene, and even Sisbell, who was not an Imperial soldier, all went silent from the tension.
…But what’s waiting for us?
…Was Kelvina researching something else?
Research that could turn humans into witches. Experiments that could turn humans into fallen angels. And the artificial astral power called the Beasts of Katalisk.
Was there something more? Was there something that even set Risya, the Lord’s own staff officer, on edge?
“…This is useless to talk about,” Jhin said, sounding annoyed. “So, Saint Disciple? Where exactly is this facility supposed to be?”
“Right in front of you. Oh, Nens, turn at that intersection and head straight. Just keep going straight a hundred yards.”
“Sure… Uh? Wh-what’s going on?!”
Nene hit the brakes as soon as she turned left. She’d barely done it in time. Had she been even a few seconds too late, the car would have plowed through an Imperial forces’ barricade.
“Th-the Imperial forces?!” Sisbell yelled when she saw the imposing wire lattice of the barricade.
An armed unit of soldiers stood there with anti–astral power riot shields at the ready. There were dozens of them, and they were surrounding the place.
“All right, all right, Princess Sisbell, don’t worry about them. They’re just here to dissuade people from wandering in. We can’t have rubberneckers, after all, and no pesky reporters or cameramen, either.”
Risya gallantly hopped out of the car. She gestured for them to follow, and the others piled out.
“Uh… Are we really leaving the car?”
“I-it’ll be all right, Miss Sisbell… I think.” Even Mismis, who held Sisbell’s hand as the princess shrank away, had a twitch in her smile.
Though the Imperial soldiers were her colleagues, Mismis was currently a witch. If they picked up on this with the astral energy sensors they had…
“Okay, we’ve kept you waiting long enough.”
Risya strolled up to the Imperial guards with enough buoyancy to clear away the mental state Iska and the others were in.
“Captain Rondle, any word from HQ yet?”
“Yes. We’ve set up the surveillance cameras around the plant and its surroundings. We won’t let even a bug escape our watch!” The captain saluted. “We opened the door in the back of the first floor at ten twenty. I have my men on standby so they can storm the place at any moment.”
“Thank you very much. So, about that”—she glanced at all the forces in the area, then winked at Iska’s unit—“this is the investigation squad I’ve got with me. They’re Unit 907, affiliated with Special Defense Third Division. The same unit that fought and fended off the Ice Calamity Witch in the Nelka forest. We can rely on them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The dozens of eyes from the armed units turned to focus on them. Iska, Jhin, Nene, and Commander Mismis. Though they were all dressed in their civilian clothes, the introduction had revealed their identities.
“Who’s the girl, ma’am?”
“Eep!”
The witch princess hitched her shoulders when the captain looked at her.
“She doesn’t look like she’s affiliated with the forces.”
“Hee-hee. Curiosity got the best of you, Captain?” Risya placed a friendly hand on Sisbell’s shoulder.
Then she said, in a very mischievous tone, “This is top secret, but this girl is Lady Sisbell, granddaughter of the Lord.”
“What?!”
“Huh?!”
The captain’s eyes opened wide.
Sisbell’s face turned red as lava.
“Y-you cretin! Wh-who are you saying is the granddaughter of that furry inhu— Mgh?!”
“Settle down now, little girl. Can’t have you yelling.” Risya had placed a hand over Sisbell’s mouth, and she whispered into her ear, “You’re the Lord’s granddaughter. She will be referred to the Imperial headquarters in five years. So we’re having her come as part of her on-site education. And I came here on official business as the Lord’s staff officer, so I’m your instructor.”
“…”
“What a good girl. Now keep quiet like you have been, if you please.” Risya winked but kept her hand over Sisbell’s mouth. “So, Captain, Their Excellency has recommended her to the Imperial headquarters, and I’ve been ordered to ensure she receives on-site experience.”
“I—I see! I extend my apologies!”
The captain and his subordinates retreated in a hurry. Like the sea parting, the barricade of force members opened up.
“Well, looks like we’re off on an adventure, everyone.”
“You haven’t heard the end of this…” Sisbell followed after Risya, muttering under her breath. Then Unit 907 followed behind them. They headed down the road originally blocked by the soldiers.
“How about I tell you a story, then?” Risya, at the front, said as though she’d suddenly remembered something. “The Imperial capital was burned to the ground by the Founder Nebulis’s rebellion a century ago. The cities around were terribly damaged as well.”
“Why are you telling us this now…?” Sisbell’s tone was sharp. “Are you trying to say the Empire was the victim a century ago? In that case, I’ll have you know that we astral mages were discriminated against by the Empire fir—”
“It’s still here. Now, what do you think I mean by that?”
“Hm?”
“What I mean is that the factories here were abandoned after being ravaged by the flames of war. The Imperial capital has cleaned up nicely, sure, but once you leave it, you’ll start finding factories from the past that have remained untouched.”
Their view opened up. Ahead was a large and expansive open area.
“Um…Risya?”
An abandoned factory.
Commander Mismis scowled dubiously and pointed at the demolition flyers posted on the concrete walls.
“This building looks like it’s already set for demolition. If this really were an important research facility, they wouldn’t tear it down.”
“Kelvina’s computers identified this location as one of her labs.”
Risya headed into the overgrown field grasses and walked to the back door. The double doors had been wrenched open and crushed in the process. The faint smell of gunpowder had likely come from the armed unit’s attempt to break the lock of the sturdy entrance.
“Incidentally, after headquarters looked into some things, they discovered that this place was marked for demolition a decade ago.”
“…What?”
“Leaving an abandoned factory as is would make for a good disguise, right?”
They entered the quiet building.
Unlike the facility that Kelvina had used as her home base, it was surprisingly bright inside from the rays of light that filtered in from the domed ceiling.
And there was nothing in it.
It wasn’t really a factory so much as a large, empty warehouse.
“Um…but there’s nothing here?” Sisbell looked down at the floor, which was carpeted thickly with dust. “The place where I was imprisoned was equipped with many computers and strange furnaces that emitted astral energy.”
“Let’s see what you can do, Princess Sisbell.” Risya produced a comm. She looked over messages that seemed to have come from headquarters. “Forty-three days ago, at two in the morning. The surveillance cameras on the street we walked down earlier caught an image of a woman who appeared to be Kelvina entering the factory.”
“…”
“We have an exact time. You should be able to reproduce it with that, yes?”
“So that’s what you wanted…” The witch princess placed a hand on her chest. She undid the first three buttons of her top and peeled off the adhesive that had been placed under her clavicle. Faint astral light spread throughout the factory.
“O planet.”
Light like a projector gathered in the empty space and recreated the figure of certain person, apparently the woman witnessed coming to this factory.
“Please show me your past.”
“I was waiting for you.”
The researcher Kelvina.
Just as when they had met her in the eastern jurisdiction of Altoria, her rouge hair seemed as though it hadn’t been combed in years, and she wore a white coat over her shoulders.
To borrow Risya’s words, this was Kelvina from forty-three days ago.
“To be frank, I was hoping to never see her face again.” Sisbell bit her lip.
The illumination of the astral power continued the projection. Next, men who seemed to be involved in transportation appeared. Two men carried gigantic containers one after another into the warehouse according to Kelvina’s instructions.
“Be very careful with it, now. These are precious materials. If you drop one and break it, I’ll use you as subjects for my experiments as compensation… Oh, that was just me mumbling to myself.
“Back here.”
Thunk.
When Kelvina pointed at the wall of the factory, a dent appeared.
A hidden passageway. The space between the two walls contained a stairwell that led to the basement.
“Oh. Well now, this is a useful power.” Risya’s voice betrayed her wonder. She looked at the projection before her, then at Sisbell.
“Well, that’s frightening, actually. With a power as useful as this, I bet the Nebulis Sovereignty and retainers were afraid of the intelligence you could gather.”
“…”
“Oh, said too much.” Risya stuck out her tongue. “But thank you, Princess Sisbell. Next, Isk, if you could handle the wall—”
He didn’t need to be told. Iska quietly used his unsheathed black sword to slice through the inner wall. It broke apart. On the other side of the crumbled wreckage they found the stairs leading underground. Just like in the projection.
“Now, how about we get going?” Risya headed down the stairs at a rhythmic pace. Sisbell followed, then everyone else.
The hall was filled with monitors.
Iska and the others had set foot in a large room packed full of small and large monitors along every wall. There were hundreds—no, thousands of them. The ceiling and side walls were no longer visible because of the great number of screens attached to their surfaces.
All of them were turned on. An endless stream of green text flowed from top to bottom on every single monitor.
“This is bizarre. It’s nothing like the lab in Altoria.”
“……Right.” Iska nodded slightly at Jhin’s comment.
What was this place?
…Is it not an astral power research facility?
…It’s completely different from Kelvina’s other research facility.
“A giant furnace was set up.
“This faint bluish-green light poured from the furnace.”
Kelvina’s previous lab had been drawing astral power and energy from an underground vortex and proliferating it through enormous furnaces.
But what was happening here? They didn’t see any furnaces to speak of, nor did they see ducts to transport anything. The countless monitors buried the walls, and the cables that extended from them were as entangled as tree roots as they draped along the ground.
“You don’t think this is an observational facility, do you?”
It had slipped out. Nene looked up at a large monitor on the wall and quietly whispered, “Risya, may I try using this keyboard?”
“That’s fine with me, Nens.”
“All right, then…”
Nene’s fingers seemed to dance over the keyboard as she typed something out. She was putting together strings of formulae and letters Iska couldn’t hope to comprehend. After she had inputted dozens of lines…
“Seventy-ninth report record.”
Above their heads, on a screen as large as a movie theater’s, a report popped up…
“To the Eight Great Apostles.
“Transmitting samples of reappearance of Astral .
“It was a joyous day. Through the witch transformation of Subject Vi and the better-than-expected results of Subject E, my hypotheses have been ninety percent confirmed.
“My hypotheses regarding the fusion of humans and astral powers.”
“We call those possessed by astral power witches and sorcerers.
“We have known about this phenomenon for a century. However, I have identified that the astral energy we collected forty-seven years ago from the polluted region of Katalisk contains a curious impurity.”
“Something similar to astral power, but not quite the same.
“It seems to be in the nature of the substance to exist in people already possessed of astral power. In other words, the person is possessed by two entities. Unfortunately, because it is selective about its host, there are few who are compatible.
“Those who are can apparently gain powers far greater than any normal witch or sorcerer.
“In exchange for this power, however, the individual must undergo a physical transformation.
“These are my so-called subjects. This is deeply intriguing.”
“This is…” Jhin’s brow furrowed as he looked up at the text on the monitor. “Are they referring to that monster Vichyssoise from the Hydra family? So she didn’t end up like that from being possessed by astral power, but because something else possessed her?”
“I think that’s how we should interpret this,” Nene said hoarsely while nodding.
Commander Mismis, who was next to her, and even Sisbell were standing stock-still, unblinking as they stared at the display. Only one person here was composed.
“Risya.”
“Hm? What is it, Isk? Why are you looking at me like that?” She turned to him. “You have a question for me?”
“How much did you already know about what’s shown on this screen?”
“I knew all of this. The Lord does as well.”
Iska had thought she would dodge the question, but instead she’d readily answered.
“What I want to know is everything that comes after this.”
“After this…? So, Nens, come on, keep going!”
When Risya pushed her to move on, Nene became flustered but turned back to the keyboard and said, “R-right.”
As before, she typed something out.
“This is how I understand this phenomenon.
“Humans and astral powers create what we call astral mages.
“When an individual combines with astral power and a different third factor, an astral mage will transform into a new being.
“The witch Vichyssoise is an example of this… However.
“At our present stage of research, we have only been able to reach three cases of complete compatibility.”
“Lord Yunmelngen is an amalgamation of astral power and the planet’s defensive wishes.
“The Founder Nebulis is an amalgamation of astral power and the planet’s interceptive wishes.
“And Subject Elletear is a union of astral power and (what the Astrals feared and called the Great Planetary Calamity).”
“Let us continue our research.
“We must catch up to those three. Elletear’s fusion is particularly far along. She is transforming into this planet’s final witch.
“We must carry on our investigation into Katalisk.
“V, E, L, A, P, N, O, and W have all consented. We have detected several coordinates for the city of ten billion stars, Reinenhabe, where slumbers. We must hasten our transition plans for five years into the future…”
The feed cut off.
The report that had been displayed disappeared, and the monitor was once again flooded with cryptic text.
“So that was all of it, then…,” Commander Mismis hesitantly said. “Vichyssoise was mentioned, so I knew the Hydra were involved, but it still feels unsettling. And the Lord and Founder were also mentioned. But I’m not sure what those letters were at the end. Risya, is this what you wanted to know—?”
“I found it.”
“What?!”
“Vittgenshla, Etienne, Luclezeus, Alleten, Promestius, Novalashlan, Ovan, and Wizeman,” she announced as smoothly as a song. Risya stated the names she had learned by heart as she faced the commander. “That’s what those letters are, Mismis.”
“What are?!”
“They’re the initials of the Eight Great Apostles’ names. V, E, L, A, P, N, O, and W. They match, right?”
“……Huh?”
“That was one of the things the Lord and I wanted to know. Coming all the way here was worth it.”
Risya turned around on the spot. As though to say she had no other business being there, she turned her back to the gigantic screen.
“It’s just as the report says. There’s a reason the Lord ended up in that form. But Their Excellency never asked for it. To prevent another tragedy like that from ever happening again, the Lord forbade all ordinary citizens from experimenting on astral power within the Empire.”
“What?!”
“Didn’t expect that, did you, Princess Sisbell?” Risya looked down at her. “Astral power research is forbidden in the Empire because astral power is a wicked thing—I’m sure that’s what the Sovereignty has told you.”
“A-are you saying that’s not the case?!”
“The Lord has never said such a thing.” Risya shrugged as though joking. “The Empire only restricts civilian research on astral power. The reason astral power research was limited to Omen, which is under the Lord’s control, and why it is restricted to certain areas, is to prevent such things from happening again.”
“Th-then what was Kelvina’s research?!”
“She was going against the Lord’s morals.”
“……Tsk.”
Sisbell sucked in a breath.
That was how much cold anger was imbued in what Risya had said.
“And we’ve finally figured out who was behind it all. Through those initials. The eight of them hid their true colors. But we’ve finally unearthed proof of their treachery. Now we just need to extract this data and head back to the capital…”
“This is the end of the line.”
They heard someone’s staticky voice echo throughout the hall. It had come from the giant monitor they had all been looking at. The text flowing down the screen disappeared, and a humanoid silhouette took its place. It seemed to creep up from within the screen.
“Risya, Sovereign witch Sisbell. And the Successor of the Black Steel, Iska. You will never reach the capital. This cold basement is the end of your journey.”
“What?!”
“Oh, come on, you’ve seen this before, Isk. You’ve seen him on the Imperial assembly’s monitors.”
“……Huh?”
“This is one of the Eight Great Apostles. Though this my first time seeing him outside of that screen, too.”
Risya narrowed her eyes behind her glasses.
A hazy hologram, almost ghostlike, rose from the ground. There wasn’t an ounce of goodwill in her eyes as she looked upon it.
“Based on your voice, you must be Luclezeus. I’m surprised you’d make a trip out all this way from the Imperial assembly. Is the record I’ve discovered that dangerous?”
“Indeed.”
“You sure were quick to confirm that.”
“There is no use trying to hide it from you. You can deduce many things from just knowing one piece of information, and I’m sure you’ve gleaned many more from that report.”
“So you rushed over here to destroy the evidence, then, I presume?”
“I’m not here to destroy the evidence. I’m here to destroy the witnesses.”
At Luclezeus’s words, Iska felt a chill run down his spine. The Eight Great Apostles. They were the supreme authority who had led the government and military in all respects.
…I just realized something.
…The Lord and the Eight Great Apostles are at odds with each other behind closed doors. And they have been since the very start!
The Eight Great Apostles had been conspiring behind the Lord’s back, and Risya had come all the way here to find proof.
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you, Apostle…,” Risya began, feigning disappointment. She shrugged, but her eyes were just as sharp as before. “I don’t mind that you got so worked up and came all the way here, but as for that holographic form you’ve taken… Your body has already rotted in the hundred years since then, so I’m sure you abandoned it.”
“Our souls will walk this mortal plane again.”
Roar!
From behind the hologram, the monitors on the wall fell one after another to the floor like a blizzard. Then the blank wall that remained was ripped apart and separated into two. Amidst the wreckage stood a gigantic furnace that bellowed out steam.
“Iska! It’s the same as the ones in Kelvina’s underground facility!”
“……Right.”
Next to the on-guard Sisbell, Iska unsheathed his astral swords. Steam that contained the divine light of astral energy belched from the furnace. Something was inside.
“It’s the Object’s successor.”
The furnace broke apart. From behind the steam that had blown away the thick wall of metal, they could hear the ground groaning under heavy footsteps.
“A beast?! No… Is it a mechanical soldier?!”
“In Kelvina’s words, it is part astral power, part machine—an astralnomical soldier. In place of machine hardware, we’ve bonded astral body parts throughout its form.”
It was a pseudoliving robot that walked on two legs. Though it was still an automaton, it was covered in slimy snakelike scales, and its legs were as strong and muscular as a lion’s.
And it breathed. Its whole body lifted and lowered as it took breaths in like a real creature, and the way it bellowed out astral energy–laced steam was exactly like that of a living being.
“We, the Eight Great Apostles, abandoned our bodies a century ago. And now we seek a vessel for our cyberbrains.”
The hologram disappeared. Almost immediately, a bright light illuminated the mechanical soldier’s eyes.
“And this is our vessel. The astralnomical soldier shall house my soul.”
In a word, the robot was a silver Object. The giant, which expelled steam from between its mechanical parts, spread its arms like a person.
“All that’s left is to find a fitting energy source.”
“Oh, now that I didn’t expect. You want something more, even after getting such a ridiculous body?”
“Astral energy isn’t enough to sustain it.”
The Apostle’s quivering voice, emanating from the soul controlling the soldier, rang out.
“That was how it was a century ago. We searched for an energy source that went beyond steam or electricity to run these soldiers. In other words, we once sought astral power…and now, at long last, we’ve found it—something to surpass even that!”
“…Huh.” Risya didn’t even raise an eyebrow. “I suppose the Lord did mention something like that. But that substance can’t be controlled by just anyone.”
“It depends on how you use it. That which slumbers at the planet’s core is the ultimate energy we seek. It captured the mad scientist’s interest, after all.”
“So now what? You plan to rebel against the Lord with that power?”
“The age of astral power will end.”
His footsteps made the very ground shake. Luclezeus’s upper body moved as his lower half crushed the monitors without leaving vestiges underfoot.
“I will tell you about one of the things Kelvina was researching here. She experimented on containing astral power. Do you understand, witch?”
“Huh?” Sisbell stood on guard when he addressed her. “What are you trying to say?”
“Astral power inhabits humans. It cannot possess inorganic steel. But we would never have enough energy to start up the astralnomical soldiers unless we made that happen. So, if it wouldn’t possess steel, then all we need to do is trap it inside. We’ll seal away the astral power into the machinery.”
“You don’t mean the Object is…”
“That’s exactly right. This is the result of our initial experiments. We sought to turn astral power into an energy source.”
Astral power passed through metals by nature. So they’d simply needed to trap the astral power in a cage that would keep it in place.
“As the astral power attempts to escape, it releases energy. We use that to fuel the astralnomical soldier. And as for why I’m telling you this…”
The floor split. The four corners of the room cracked apart, and crooked blackish-brown towers sprouted like living plants from the ground.
“…that applies in this case as well.”
False Barrier—Planet’s Nucleus.
The room began to transform. Instead of rising to the ceiling, the steam from the furnaces began to whirl and eddy.
“A barrier that the Founder once used to hide her astral power as she fled the Empire. You may think of it as an isolated area where astral power is sealed away. But by enveloping this room, astral energy can neither enter nor escape.”
“I see… So you were careful to prepare in advance.”
Risya glanced around.
Four towers stood in the four corners of the room. The light they discharged from their tips surrounded the place. That must have been the barrier containing the astral power.
“No astral energy will be able to leave these walls, then,” Risya said. “Meaning the Lord won’t be able to sense there’s something wrong?”
“Yes, the Lord can sniff out the stirring of astral power, can’t they?”
This barrier sealed away the “odor” of astral power. If the astral power could not escape in the form of a “scent,” the Lord would remain unaware of the fight happening underground.
In other words, the Eight Great Apostles could act right under their nose.
“Successor of the Black Steel, Iska, you did well to keep the Ice Calamity Witch at bay in the Nelka forest.”
“Tsk.”
“However, you unintentionally came too close to unearthing what lies at the center of the world. That is your crime,” Luclezeus declared. “And we have heard from Talisman about you, Sovereign witch, Sisbell. That your power would be of great assistance.”
“What did you just say…?”
“But you are working with the Lord to uncover the events of a hundred years ago. That is your sin. And Risya, staff officer to the Lord.”
He looked down upon the humans at his feet, who were much too small in comparison to the astralnomical soldier.
“You have been incredibly useful until now.”
“Yes, yes. So what? What’s your accusation against me?”
“That you chose the Lord instead of us. The Eight Great Apostles were waiting in anticipation for you to betray the Lord and come to us.”
“Ha!” She laughed. “Unfortunately, I will remain faithful to the Lord until the very end. Once you’ve fallen in love with that fluffy tail and come know how soft it is, you wouldn’t be able to betray them, either.”
“How very laudable of you.”
Luclezeus’s pronouncement of their deaths made the very ground groan.
“This is your last stop. Now return to the bowels of the planet.”
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