Ariel took the lead in subjugating the monster. I’ll skip over the details.
The monster’s destructive power was considerable more than expected. But in the end, before Ariel, it was reduced to nothing more than a splatter of blood.
“Huff… huff…”
Of course, it wasn’t an easy fight. For a mage to take on a highly durable monster in such a confined space…it’s a pretty tricky situation.
“Johan… I didn’t realize you were this rough with people.”
“No way.”
Ariel just doesn’t know. She hasn’t worked with me enough to see it.
Where would you even find someone easier to work with than me?
Once she gets used to it, Ariel will start jumping into action without needing a word from me.
“At this level… around 8%, I’d say.”
That means it’s roughly equivalent to a high-ranking officer in a terrorist organization.
What really matters is that they can mass-produce things like this. And worst of all, this might not even be the finished product.
“Well then…”
I looked beyond the corridor, thick with dust from the aftermath of battle.
“So you’ve finally arrived, Scriptwriter.”
– Yeah, I’ve been watching you desperately trying to get my attention.
Unlike the monster we just took down or the countless traps scattered around, what appeared now was a creaky android-like mechanical device. It seemed built purely for conversation.
“You really like to make an entrance. If you’d just answered earlier, we could’ve handled this a lot more comfortably, don’t you think?”
– I wasn’t uncomfortable, though?
Ha… That bastard.
Whether he’s a machine or undead, he’s still got that same irritating way of getting under your skin. Some things never change. I’m not sure if I should be relieved by that consistency.
“To be honest, I have no intention of getting in your way.”
– Of course. You have a tendency to run from any kind of danger, as long as it doesn’t directly affect you or those close to you.
And you, who know that better than anyone, had the nerve to lash out at me while I was doing nothing…!
No, calm down. There’s nothing to gain by provoking him. He is, after all, the leader of a terrorist organization.
“I’m just here to deliver a message. There’s no need for us to be hostile toward each other, is there?”
– That would be nice. Be sure to return the gear when you leave.
“Ah, right…”
Even though I said I wasn’t here to antagonize him, I could still feel his caution toward me.
I guess the gears I’ve collected really are bothering him?
If I’d known this would happen, maybe I should’ve left them behind from the start.
All I’ve done is provoke him for no reason.
But even so, I couldn’t really leave behind the only tool that might be able to restrain the Scriptwriter.
If things go wrong… I don’t even want to imagine it, but if it comes to that, we’ll have to take him down.
“For now, I know what you’re planning to do. You’re planning to dig down to the core and supply it with energy, right?”
– Hmm…
“Am I wrong?”
– No, you’re right. A few things just came to mind, that’s all. Ah, nothing you need to worry about.
“……”
Really?
Talking to him now, I get the feeling he realized something in the middle of our conversation. And it’s definitely not something unrelated to me.
He’s hiding something. I can’t shake that thought.
Let’s just keep going.
“…Scriptwriter, do you remember the First Princess Lapis?”
– Yes, I remember.
“Her real body is in the core. And if it comes out, apparently everyone dies.”
– Everyone dies?
“Yes. From what I’ve heard, anything that’s alive will be wiped out.”
– I see. That is a serious matter.
“Right?”
– Yes.
“……”
– ……
“So?”
If you’re not going to say you’ll stop, then shouldn’t you at least come up with a countermeasure?
“People are going to die, you know?”
– I heard you. I understand what you’re worried about. I’ll start thinking of a plan right now.
“……”
– What’s wrong?
The Scriptwriter’s android shrugged its shoulders with an exaggerated, almost playful gesture.
Unnecessarily human-like movements.
But that kind of “human charm” isn’t what matters right now.
Right. There’s a more fundamental problem.
– Having trouble turning back?
“……”
A laugh, almost like it was printed out. It was flat and mechanical.
The voice, the gestures….none of it was any different from the real Scriptwriter.
– Johan Damus.
That voice was chillingly devoid of humanity.
– This is the reason I tried to kill you.
“……”
– It’s a very fundamental problem.
Chiiiiiiiik!!
The rusted, creaking android released a burst of steam.
– Trust.
“……”
– Even after hearing my positive answer, you couldn’t bring yourself to walk away. And I, knowing your cowardly nature, couldn’t let down my guard either.
“That’s…”
– What you really want is for me to abandon this plan altogether, isn’t it?
I couldn’t deny it.
Unless he promised to find another way and unless that grotesque abomination was eliminated, there’d be no peace of mind.
– It may look like this castle was whipped up overnight, but in truth, it required quite a bit of preparation.
That made sense.
That must be why he started all this back in Creta.
All the equipment and resources needed to create such a system. He had them here. And beyond that…
– Only this coordinate shows the least seismic activity, allowing me to dig down to the absolute limit.
That must be why the Scriptwriter, back when he was alive, chose and settled in the city of Creta.
– So no, I have no intention of canceling this plan.
No concessions.
It meant that even the Scriptwriter had reasons he couldn’t walk away.
Just like he said.
That’s the exact reason we could never be aligned.
Trust.
“I see.”
Now I understood.
Why Deus, while still alive, entrusted the gears to me-.
Why even after death, he wanted me to keep moving.
He had known everything.
Because he could see himself through the eyes of others, he already knew how things would end.
Conflict between us was inevitable.
When faced with a problem that simply cannot be ignored, looking away just isn’t an option.
– We know each other too well to trust one another.
“I admit it.”
The Scriptwriter is a hedonist.
I can’t say for certain whether becoming a machine made him abandon his moral compass, but I can’t be optimistic about his nature.
It’s not like I’m saying I’m out here to protect the world or save humanity.
I just want to survive. And that means I have no choice but to act.
“This negotiation is over. As I thought, I can’t trust you as you are now.”
– How refreshingly honest.
Psshhhhhh!!
The Scriptwriter’s mechanical device released another burst of steam. Now, with the dense fog, all I could see was a silhouette.
The veiled figure known as the Scriptwriter.
So obscured that you couldn’t even tell if it was human or machine.
And ironically, that form…
Was exactly how I remembered the Scriptwriter.
“I’m a coward, after all.”
I can’t just take someone’s baseless words at face value and wait for tomorrow to come.
– Yes, Johan Damus. That’s more like you. But… you didn’t really think things between us wouldn’t end up like this, did you?
“…I expected as much.”
Yeah, it wasn’t exactly something I couldn’t have predicted.
I came prepared with all the gears, assuming this might happen.
But… something feels off. Did I miss something?
The Scriptwriter spread his arms in the steam, grinning as if putting on a show.
– That I’ve been watching you even before you got here?
“……”
– Johan Damus. Didn’t the air feel a little warm to you?
“…What?”
Considering we’re underground that was filled with machines running nonstop, of course it felt hot.
That’s what I thought.
– Did you ever catch a faint, sweet scent among all the oily smells?
I quickly covered my mouth.
No way…did he release poison into the corridor? At this scale?
– No need to worry. It’s not poison.
“…Still, you’re admitting you did release something.”
– That’s right.
Now that I think about it, maybe the steam he kept spraying wasn’t just for show….it was to hide whatever he released into the air.
Or maybe that steam itself is what he’s dispersing right now.
– Using poison would be the worst option. It wouldn’t work on you anyway. Thanks to Georg, your body’s built up resistance to just about every drug.
“…Wait, that’s news to me.”
So Georg still hasn’t given up on dragging me into graduate school?
Now that I think about it, even when I first returned to the alchemy workshop, he tried to mess with my mind using some weird scent.
I really can’t let my guard down around any of them.
– On top of that, you now have the Worm Gear that lets you control your bloodstream and the Pinion Gear that can manipulate the composition of the air itself. No ordinary poison’s going to get through to you.
That’s right. Those functions do exist.
With the Worm Gear representing the human circulatory system, and the Pinion Gear representing the respiratory system, most poisons wouldn’t even be able to enter my body.
Somehow, I’ve ended up reaching a state you’d only see in martial arts novels…the level of complete immunity to all poisons.
– And that assassin girl of yours is the same, isn’t she? She must’ve built up resistance to poison for her assassinations. Am I wrong?
“Mhmm, that’s right. A matching set with Johan.”
For some reason, Yuna nodded with a proud expression.
It’s a sad kind of camaraderie, really….one I can only feel sorry about.
– Which means poison is useless. It’s tricky enough to poison someone without them noticing, and with most superhumans, it’s impossible to poison them at all.
“……”
– Even if I did manage to poison someone other than you… with the current you, detoxifying them would be a simple matter, wouldn’t it?
That too would be an easy task using the gears.
There’d be no need to even craft an antidote. With the gears, I could extract the poison directly from their body. In the end, it would all be meaningless.
– So then, if not poison, what did I release?
Still covering my mouth and nose just in case, I checked my condition.
No issues. And even if there were, the gears would’ve taken care of it.
So what is it, then?
– Wasn’t there someone who had a particularly hard time making it here? Someone gasping for air?
If someone relied on magic rather than physical enhancement through mana, wouldn’t they be more susceptible?
“……!”
At those words, I immediately turned to check on Ariel.
Ever since fighting the monster, Ariel had been out of breath.
Back then, I assumed it was just fatigue…but what if it wasn’t?
– As I said, poison is meaningless. Even if someone were to collapse from it, you’d just detoxify them. But what if you couldn’t step in? What if they resisted… of their own will?
“…Their own will?”
– What I released was…
Ariel who was still gasping for breath slowly lifted her head.
Even with the Scriptwriter standing right in front of her, she kept her eyes fixed solely on me.
There was something chilling about it.
My body instinctively tensed, like a small animal facing a predator.
– A pheromone.
The voice rang in my ears.
– When it comes to stirring internal conflict among people who can’t live without you, there’s nothing more effective than this, is there?
Had I underestimated him?
No, that’s not it. I just didn’t think the Scriptwriter would go this far.
Did he really know to target something like this? He’s more ruthless than I imagined, completely unbound by any sense of decency or method.
This old man… I didn’t think he’d actually resort to something this vile…
“…Ariel, you need to stay focused.”
If, by any chance, Ariel loses control, everything will fall apart.
She was an Archmage.
The most powerful person among everyone here.
If she were to go berserk under the influence of that drug, there’d be no stopping her.
We’d be wiped out by her hands before we could even lay a finger on the Scriptwriter.
“I’m okay, Johan.”
“Ariel…?”
“…I’m fine.”
But she didn’t let me down.
Even while gasping for breath, Ariel clung to her consciousness, holding herself together.
“This is nothing.”
“Just hang on a little longer. I’ll neutralize the drug right away!”
She truly is an Archmage. Her mental strength is astounding.
I rushed forward, quickly moving to activate the Worm Gear’s ability.
There’s no time. Ariel can’t hold on forever.
Smack!
“Huh?”
But the moment I approached her with that thought in mind….
Ariel suddenly grabbed my wrist, as if she’d been waiting for it.
“Ah, Ariel…?”
“It’s okay if we do it here.”
“…No, Ariel. You’re not okay right now. Not at all.”
And with that one line, it became clear.
Ariel was definitely not in her right mind.
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