Chapter 259: Deus Ex Machina Part 5

Meanwhile, unlike Johan’s concerns, the two who had entered the castle even earlier, Theseus and Immun, were steadily making their way downward.

“Haa…”

The path so far had been simple.

Immun was also a member of Deus Ex Machina.

Using the strengths that only he possessed, it wasn’t difficult to break through the traps the Scriptwriter had set up.

However, the deeper they went, the more they began to feel something.

“It seems the Scriptwriter is watching us. Do you think he’ll respond if we speak to him?”

“Hard to say. Knowing the old man, if he wanted to talk, he would’ve reached out to us first.”

“I suppose so.”

The traps were full of malice.

The deeper they went, the more mechanical devices appeared. These were machines specifically designed to counter Immun’s attacks.

The Scriptwriter was aware of their presence. And under that awareness, he had laid countermeasures to slow them down.

“Either way, if we want to earn the right to a conversation, we’ll have to break through this labyrinth first.”

“Do you think it’s possible…?”

“We’ll have to try. And if I’m really in danger, won’t you help me, Prince Theseus?”

“Well… yes, of course.”

Theseus hadn’t yet joined the fight directly.

It was clear that what had happened before still lingered in him like a trauma.

If the Scriptwriter had noticed that and was intentionally staying silent, then the moment Theseus stepped forward, a barrage of psychological attacks would surely begin.

The current silence was also a form of restraint aimed at Theseus.

“For now, I’ll handle things as far as I can. Your Highness should conserve your strength in case something unexpected happens.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Theseus hung his head, ashamed of how pitiful he felt at the moment. Despite having power, fear kept him from even drawing his sword.

What had happened in the Veldani Mountains still left a deep scar in his heart…one that had yet to heal.

“……”

The mechanical devices looming before him almost felt human.

He tried to shake off the illusion by tightly shutting his eyes….but it wasn’t easy.

In the end, he was just a coward.

“No need to worry, Your Highness.”

But Immun didn’t seem to mind the way Theseus was acting.

He believed that, eventually, Theseus would make his decision.

Until that time came, it was his job to buy them time.

“Hmm.”

Immun aimed his gun at the mechanical device rushing toward him.

A single, unimpressive revolver.

And yet, with that one small pistol, he had made it this far.

All the traps set by the Scriptwriter, all the assassins made of steel….each had been silenced by this single gun.

And this time was no different.

Bang!

A shot rang out, and the approaching machine stopped in its tracks.

“Phew…”

The mechanical devices prepared by the Scriptwriter were unusually sturdy. Normally, a revolver-level firearm wouldn’t even scratch them.

But Immun had one absolute advantage: the Philosopher’s Stone.

Click!

From within the frozen machine, silver liquid began to stream out. At first in trickles, then spreading like melting metal.

Bullets made from refined Philosopher’s Stone.

He forcibly altered the structure of metal, making them the perfect counter to mechanical devices.

The moment the bullet touched the machine, a burst of heat was released.

That heat triggered the Philosopher’s Stone within the bullet to alter the metal’s properties.

No matter how strong a metal may be, if its fundamental nature changes, it’s meaningless.

No matter how precise the machine is, if the nature of the metals that make it up changes, it will break down.

– Gallium, is it?

“…So you’ve finally decided to respond, Scriptwriter.”

Immun swallowed dryly as he replied to the voice coming from a speaker installed in the corridor.

The Scriptwriter was finally paying attention to them.

– Ah, yes. I saw that. Quite a clever tactic. Mercury is too dangerous, and cesium has an explosion risk. So your choice makes sense.

“You haven’t changed at all. Still obsessed with technology, as always.”

– By using the heat imbued in the bullet, you were able to alter the state of the metal even without room temperature conditions. Truly impressive!

“……”

Immun tightly shut his eyes.

He really never listens to others. That fact alone was further proof that the one speaking was indeed the Scriptwriter himself.

Deep down, Immun had wondered if perhaps some reckless thug was abusing the Scriptwriter’s legacy.

More precisely, he had hoped it wasn’t the Scriptwriter.

But even with just this brief exchange, Immun could now be sure. The person behind all this was the real Scriptwriter.

“Why are you doing this?”

– Hmm? For my dream, of course. And why are you bothering me?

“Didn’t you try to kill me just recently? And now you’re causing all this damage… If there’s a reason behind it, then I have to hear it…and stop you if I can.”

– So righteous, as always. I always liked that about you.

“…So are you going to explain?”

– Do I need to? I’ve already told you everything. It’s for my dream. That’s all there is to it. I’m just doing everything I can to make it come true.

“Killing people and trampling on others’ lives… for a dream?”

– Yes.

“…You’ve changed.”

– No, I haven’t.

The Scriptwriter spoke with a lighthearted tone, just as he always had.

– I was just unprepared before, that’s all. But I’ve always been the same. I’ve always been willing to become heartless for the sake of my dream.

If the Scriptwriter had truly been a good person, he would never have sat by idly while the members of Deus Ex Machina committed acts of terror.

He had watched it all unfold, claiming that where there is good, there must also be evil.

And behind that attitude was also a sense of understanding. He could sympathize at least to some degree with their desire to verify experimental results, even through terrorism.

– Immun. Theseus. Will you stand in my way?

“……”

– If so, you’d better be ready. I have no intention of giving up on my dream. I think I’ve been more than generous. I gave the city a chance to escape. But if you’re going to try and stop me…

Thud!

At that moment, a new mechanical device appeared from the dark corridor.

No…calling it a mechanical device would be misleading.

– You’re about to find out just how heartless I can truly be.

The Scriptwriter had already moved beyond the realm of mere machines.

Having succeeded in reconstructing his own body, creating lifeforms was no longer difficult for him.

“Grrr…”

It wasn’t a machine. It was made of biological tissue.

Its beast-like appearance made Immun frown.

The Philosopher’s Stone was, in the end, an item that altered the properties of metal.

While even living organisms contain metallic elements, the Scriptwriter certainly knew that well.

This creature, this biological monster before him, was clearly a non-metallic lifeform designed specifically to counter Immun.

– Now, I’ll give you a choice. Will you quietly turn back and watch the end of my experiment from afar? Or will you meet your end here and now?

“No… there’s a third option.”

Immun lowered his pistol.

Up to now, he had relied solely on that weapon.

But there was no reason to cling to it when it clearly wouldn’t work anymore.

From his coat, he drew a dagger. It was far too small a weapon to face a monster like the one before him.

“I’ll stop your madness. Even if I have to force you.”

“Good. Very good. Far better than I expected. The little worm who used to cower in my shadow is finally saying something worthwhile.”

“…….!”

More than the words themselves, Immun was shocked by where the voice had come from.

The grotesque creature made of living tissue. The monster standing before him—

It was speaking as if it were truly alive.

“Of course… that’s only if you actually have the power to do so.”

“What is this…?”

“Allow me to introduce it. This is my new body, designed and created for the sole purpose of combat.”

Boom!

The huge creature with giant horns let out bursts of hot steam from its entire body as it spoke.

“I call it Minos.”

All the resolve Immun had built up was shaken. His face turned pale under the overwhelming presence of the monster.

“It’s my greatest masterpiece, built upon the foundation of a Great Warrior.”

The Scriptwriter casually dropped this bombshell, as cheerfully as ever.

***

On our way forward, we came across broken machines.

This was already the third time.

It seems to be traces left behind by the pioneers who went ahead of us…

“What do you think, Emily?”

“These are Immun’s tracks.”

“Thought so. But still…”

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile as I examined the piles of wreckage.

“There’s no sign of Prince Theseus. Has he still not come to his senses?”

There were no sword marks on any of the machines.

Only bullet holes. It meant Immun was the one carving out the path alone.

“That’s dangerous.”

Immun is weak. To be blunt, in terms of physical ability, he’s far below even me.

On top of that, the Geneva Gear which was his core weapon has already been absorbed into my Babel Gear.

In other words, he barely has any usable abilities left.

For someone like him, going up against a Scriptwriter who adapts and counters in real time is practically suicide.

“Hmm, let’s see here…”

I was sifting through the wreckage, hoping to investigate a little more, when—

Tug.

I stopped moving at the sudden sensation of someone tugging on my clothes and turned around.

There was someone clutching my hem tightly, trembling.

“Ariel?”

“J-Johan…”

Her voice was trembling.

Her eyes were wide with dilated pupils, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

She clung to my clothes like she was afraid, as if her instincts were screaming not to go any further.

“We… we have to run. He’s here….he’s still here…!”

“Ariel, calm yourself. What exactly are you saying is here?”

Ever since she reached the level of Archmage, I’ve never seen her this afraid.

No….she was never like this even before then.

It was the first time I’d ever seen Ariel this afraid.

I couldn’t even begin to guess who the “he” she spoke of might be.

Then, Ariel muttered under her breath.

“The Great Warrior…”

“…What?”

An impossible name slipped from her lips. I blinked, wondering if I’d misheard her.

But Ariel drove the point home.

“He’s here. The Great Warrior.”

“What are you saying? The Great Warrior? He’s already—”

And then, a possibility flashed through my mind.

The Great Warrior is dead. He accepted the end he wanted, a final release, with no regrets.

His body had been torn apart and paraded around by the Empire for propaganda, so there was no way it could have been repurposed through dark magic.

But there was one possibility.

This place was the fortress of the Scriptwriter, a man whose technology could recreate human flesh entirely from scratch.

If he had somehow gotten his hands on even a piece of the Great Warrior’s corpse…

If by chance he had found that horrific object the Empire once carried around on pikes to inspire fear and pride…

The Great Warrior’s final attack happened in the winter.

Though his body had died, the freezing weather had preserved it. It hadn’t decomposed.

Looking back, the timing of the Scriptwriter’s appearance had always been suspicious.

He could’ve shown up earlier or waited longer.

But instead, he had revealed himself without hesitation. In hindsight, that meant he had been confident.

“Johan…”

I looked down at Ariel again.

She had fought Vidar directly. She knew exactly how powerful that being had been.

Even when she faced a dying Vidar, she couldn’t be sure of victory on her own.

But this….this was Vidar.

No matter how skilled the Scriptwriter may be, recreating someone like Vidar is impossible.

He wasn’t just flesh and bone. He was the final product of sorcery, divine power, personal strength, and the countless years of experience and effort that made Vidar who he was.

A perfect replication would be out of the question. At best, maybe ten percent of the original.

But still…

“There’s more than one.”

If those monsters could be mass-produced, then it was a different story entirely.

“They’re all up and moving, roaming through the labyrinth…”

At the trembling sound of Ariel’s voice, I lifted my head and looked up at the metallic ceiling above us.

With no sky in sight, a sense of dread pressed down on me. And without thinking, I muttered,

“Maybe we should turn back…”

For real this time.

No matter how far we’ve come… this isn’t it.