“To be honest, I have no interest in becoming the successor of Ex Machina. I just don’t see the appeal.”
Why should I shoulder such a risk when I have no ambition?
I was skeptical from the beginning. I was practically forced into it.
Still, that doesn’t mean I ever took it lightly.
“I have no intention of becoming the head of Ex Machina. But since I completed the Perfect Gear, I’ll exercise at least the minimal right that position grants.”
The gears I collected one by one, starting from the Babel Gear, had now transformed into a single complete gear.
The completed gear that was called Perfect Gear had a self-evolution system, and even the ability to cancel that evolution.
“Someone who does not indulge. Someone who can look at the world calmly without being intoxicated by knowledge, wisdom, or power.”
That was the condition Deus once told me. The requirement for a successor.
Isn’t it laughable?
“Isn’t that the exact opposite of what you are now? Scriptwriter, Deus Ex Machina.”
– Indeed…
“So with the qualification you gave me, I’m removing you from your position.”
– Hahahahahaha!
In a way, it’s a paradox.
I’m exercising the very authority I claim not to want.
But isn’t it just as ridiculous that the Scriptwriter himself no longer meets the standard he set?
– I’ve lost. At least in debate, I can’t win.
“Glad to see you’re quick to admit it.”
– Well, of course.
The camera that was watching me tilted slightly, almost like it was nodding.
– It really does sound like something I would’ve said. Must be a memory that was lost from me. Serves me right. Or maybe I should call it a trap of my own making?
“Probably both.”
– Indeed. You’re right.
I quietly reached out my right hand.
Now it was time to steel myself.
– But you didn’t think I’d give up everything just from hearing that, did you?
“Of course not. This is merely the preamble to a declaration of war.”
– I see. So it’s about securing your justification. Looks like you’ve grown quite attached to me.
“We have met face to face, after all.”
I added a clear reason for wanting to kill him.
– Then go ahead. I’m curious to see just how far a weak and foolish creature like you can go.
“I’ll show you. Just as you expect.”
Whirrrrrrrrr!!
The gears began to turn.
Starting with the Babel Gear, then the Spur Gear, Geneva Gear, Worm Gear, Rack & Pinion Gear, and even the Planetary Gear.
By deploying all the gears simultaneously, I awakened the Perfect Gear.
“Haa…”
The Perfect Gear has three major powers:
The combined abilities of all gears, a self-evolution system, and the reset function.
What’s needed now is reset.
If I can stop the Scriptwriter’s self-evolution system, I can win.
But reaching that point won’t be easy.
– Will your body hold up?
“Honestly, I’m already feeling dizzy.”
The fuel efficiency of the Perfect Gear is terrible.
Which makes sense….I’m activating seven gears at the same time.
Even just using the Babel Gear alone was overwhelming. Using all seven? Of course it’s exhausting.
“Still, this is the only option left to us now.”
But it’s worth it.
It grants a chance. Even to someone as weak as me.
– Then it can’t be helped. Well… shall we begin?
Boom!
In an instant, the storm stopped.
The raging winds that had swept across the area halted, and the metal fragments rained down like droplets, clattering onto the ground.
Only then did the Scriptwriter’s true form become clearly visible.
A giant mountain of flesh lay before me, and I looked terribly insignificant in comparison.
“What an unfair fight…”
***
Despite stepping forward with confidence, I couldn’t do anything.
To be precise, all I could do was desperately defend against the attacks the Scriptwriter unleashed.
“Urgh?!”
Ziiiiiiiiiiiing!!
The disintegration beam fired by the Planetary Gear. I barely managed to deflect its direction by firing the same type of beam.
But there’s a vast difference in both output and number of attacks between us.
Of course there is. I can’t even properly handle the Babel Gear. How could I hope to control the others?
The gap in proficiency is just too great.
“Damn it…”
In the end, I failed to block the Scriptwriter’s beam.
Even though I intercepted it with the same method, residual streaks of light twisted and surged toward me.
If he calculated even this far ahead… no, of course he did.
The guy already had a brilliant mind. And now it’s literally inside a computer.
“Tch!”
Pazzzzzzt!
I immediately activated the Geneva Gear’s ability to block the remaining beams.
“Urgh!”
The attack was blocked. No aftershocks. But I felt as though a huge chunk of my stamina had been ripped away.
Damn it, what was this thing even made for? It’s not something a human body can handle.
Well, monsters like Lobelia probably could handle it. But those kinds of monsters usually aren’t too bright.
Is it even possible to have a monster that’s both smart and physically gifted?
– You’ve got time for daydreaming?
“Urgh?!”
A huge flaming whip came flying toward me.
What kind of technique is that? Wait….did he not even use a gear for this one?
“Johan!”
Fwoooosh!
While I was momentarily stunned, Yuna intercepted the attack in my place.
To be more accurate, she threw herself in front of it and took the blow head-on.
“Yuna!”
“I can still handle this much!”
Yuna was plummeting with steam billowing from her entire body.
Looking closely, I didn’t see any burn marks. It seems she summoned [Wave] to block the flames.
“Johan, are you okay?”
“I think I should be the one asking you that.”
Who throws themselves into a firestorm and then worries about someone else?
“Your eyes are bleeding.”
“Ah… I guess I’m the worse off here.”
I knew the Perfect Gear was a heavy burden, but I didn’t expect it to break me down this fast.
I hadn’t even realized the extent of the damage to my own body…
“……”
Now that I think about it, something doesn’t add up.
I’m already at the point where my eyes are bleeding from the strain.
That proves how horrendous the fuel efficiency of the Perfect Gear is, and how brutal the toll it takes on the body is.
Then how is the Scriptwriter maintaining that absurd level of power?
Once the thought popped up, it started spiraling.
“Puhihi~ Guess I’ll have to block for you.”
Yuna stepped in front of another attack from the Scriptwriter, shielding me once more.
And at that moment, I realized it.
The Scriptwriter’s sarcastic jab and asking if I even had the luxury to daydream was meant to rob me of exactly that luxury.
It was a trick to keep my thoughts from drifting elsewhere.
If that’s the case, then maybe the clues I already have are enough to reach the answer.
I quietly lifted my head.
Through the hole in the ceiling where the monster and Dietrich had fallen, I could see it.
A hole so high I couldn’t see the end of it.
“The top floor…”
The monster had fallen from the top floor or at least somewhere near it. That Dietrich, who was headed for the top, fell with it proves it.
The fact that such a huge monster was stationed there means there’s something important on the top floor.
“Yuna!”
“Mhmm! Say it!”
“Go up! All the way!”
I handed Yuna a signal flare and pointed straight at the hole in the ceiling.
“Okay!”
Since Yuna was the one I’d trained with the most, she understood immediately and began running, using nearby structures to climb.
The Scriptwriter had made a huge mistake.
Summoning a monster without thinking, just to deal with the blackout….that was the beginning of his downfall.
The monster had carved a straight path from the top floor to here, and now we could use that path too.
– Of course. Always good at scheming, aren’t you? You figured it out already?
The Scriptwriter began moving the cables to stop Yuna.
They twisted bizarrely, reaching out to grab her, and weapons popped out from all directions, aiming at her.
Even for Yuna, it’d be hard to dodge them all.
But then…
Thunk!
The Scriptwriter’s cables bounced off the air, as if they’d hit an invisible wall.
– What the…?!”
A split-second difference.
Having lost sight of Yuna, the Scriptwriter turned the camera and looked in a different direction.
“Substitution.”
– Ha… You smashed through all of it?”
“Well, I am an Archmage.”
There stood Ariel, walking forward with a commanding presence.
Judging by their exchange, it seemed Ariel had smashed through every trap the Scriptwriter had set.
She must’ve drained a lot of stamina… that’s incredible.
Had I underestimated Ariel? Or maybe…
– Hahaha! Johan Damus. Even if you win, your future holds death! You should fear the night!
Was I just turning my eyes away from the future that would inevitably come?
What the… that stamina…? I can’t even see the end of it…
Is it even fair for a mage to have that kind of stamina?
– Well, fine. It can’t be helped. That assassin girl won’t be able to destroy the generator on the top floor anyway.
“…Well, that’s possible.”
Honestly, Yuna isn’t the type with overwhelming firepower.
She’s an assassin, through and through. She doesn’t prefer or even use loud powerful attacks.
Of course, she probably has some trump cards of her own.
– Johan Damus, do you have any idea how deep underground we are?”
“……”
Yeah… it’s probably incredibly deep.
The monster fell all the way down here from the top floor, aided by gravity. But Yuna has to go against it to climb up.
Still, with her agility, she should be able to reach the top before long.
Considering when the monster fell, it shouldn’t be impossible.
But in the process, her stamina will be drained. She already used high-level magic, and that must’ve exhausted her.
Even now, she’s probably squeezing out the last of her strength just to keep running.
– By the way, you said it was a substitution, right? Ariel Ether. How much longer can you hold out?
“If Johan wants me to, I can last another three or four days.”
– Haha! What a lovely answer.”
And with that, the Scriptwriter completely stopped paying attention to Yuna, unaware that she was the final variable I’d prepared.
***
Yuna ran.
Charging straight toward the top floor, she felt the limits of her stamina for the first time in a while.
Gravity pulling her down felt absurdly heavy.
She was gasping for air, and pain was shooting through her limbs like they might tear apart.
“Khgh!”
Each time she lost her footing, she grabbed the ceiling with her fingertips.
That’s how she ran, half climbing toward the top floor.
“Haaagh…”
Her stamina was already spent. Her mental focus nearly gone. Her vision blurred.
“A… Almost…”
But she was someone who’d survived even worse.
Someone who’d wandered the back alleys and endured hunger on the brink of death.
Pain was nothing new to her. That’s why she managed to reach the top floor in less than ten minutes.
“Huff… haah…”
But that was as far as she could go.
The moment the thought of finally arriving crossed her mind, her body, relieved, refused to move any further.
A huge machine stood before her eyes.
She knew destroying it was the true end, but even lifting a single finger felt impossible.
“……”
Still, Yuna smiled.
She forced a grin.
She couldn’t destroy the machine in front of her. That much had been clear even before she set out.
But she believed in Johan.
“B-Big Sister Yuna!”
Before she knew it, Yuna saw the silver-haired girl running toward her.
In the girl’s hand glowed the warm light of dawn.
The holy power of the Prophet, Helena.
If she received that power, she’d soon be able to move like before.
But not yet.
Tap!
Yuna immediately placed the flare she’d received from Johan into Helena’s hand.
“……?”
“……”
She had no strength left to speak.
She simply looked at Helena, hoping she’d understand.
“Ah! Okay! This comes first, right?”
Fortunately, Helena seemed to get it and nodded, then turned to shout at Jeff.
“Please punch through the ceiling! I think we need to fire the flare!”
“Uh… Got it!”
Jeff was a paladin specialized in defense. But more than that, he was a veteran who had survived a full year in the Cradle.
He might not be able to break through the generator protected by countless defense systems, but piercing a metal ceiling? That was easy.
Booom!!
With Jeff’s full-powered strike, the ceiling shattered and the flare Helena fired lit up the air in a dazzling burst.
And at that moment—
Unpromised. Unplanned.
Bang!
A beam of light, charged with fierce momentum, shot toward the generator.
***
“Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, you son of a bitch!”
The man muttered, grinding his teeth as if cursing someone.
Click!
Wielding a firearm larger than his own body, he stared intently at a target hundreds of kilometers away.
Distance meant nothing to him. As long as he could see it with his own eyes, it was already within his range.
“You dragged Emily into this?”
Stan Robinhood.
An unplanned ally.
Johan trusted him. That’s why he didn’t bother explaining the plan.
He believed Stan Robinhood would act without being told. As long as Emily was involved.
Because Stan didn’t trust him.
“Might as well just die out there, Johan Damus!!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
And so, a trust built on distrust shattered even the Scriptwriter’s expectations.
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