Chapter 266: Ship of Theseus Part 4

Olga Hermod’s original magic [Kaleidoscope – Synesthetic Expansion] can hardly be called an offensive spell.

It’s a spell specialized entirely in suppression.

But that also means it’s absolutely effective when it comes to suppressing.

[Kaleidoscope – Synesthetic Expansion] disperses the senses throughout the entire space.

One might think that tampering with the senses wouldn’t work on a mechanical being like the Scriptwriter. But that’s not true.

The spell may not work directly on the Scriptwriter itself, but it can still affect the surrounding environment.

The kaleidoscope reflects the surrounding space.

It copies, breaks apart, and spreads it.

It amplifies every piece of sensory information of sight, touch, sound, and more.

And that alone is enough.

– Th-This is…!

Enough to break the Scriptwriter.

The Scriptwriter was thorough by nature. That’s why he tends to fully use whatever abilities were available to him without leaving gaps.

He once said that he liked Emily’s inventions because of their focus on practicality.

Would someone like him deliberately hold back resources when facing us?

Considering how much effort he’s putting even into the background, it’s clear he’s using every ounce of power available to him.

And that’s why he’s vulnerable.

– As…te…

A massive flood of information is injected into him in an instant, causing the Scriptwriter to black out.

A variable he couldn’t foresee.

If Olga Hermod had been the one to come here instead of me, this wouldn’t have worked.

This only worked because it was something the Scriptwriter couldn’t predict. Because it was done by someone as weak as me.

“Emily!”

“Yes?”

The Scriptwriter’s movements stopped.

Now in a temporary blackout state, he was completely defenseless.

Which meant this was our chance.

Right now, we could finish the Scriptwriter for good.

“Attack the main body!”

“Got it.”

Helical Gear’s legs spread out again in all directions.

For a moment, I thought it might be firing a beam like before, but this time was different.

In an instant, Helical Gear’s legs drew a magic circle.

Even at a glance, it was clearly magic related to the convergence and amplification of light.

Technically, it was only a half-completed spell. But what completes the other half is magic engineering.

Chzzzzkt!

After a brief charging period, Emily’s Helical Gear fired a beam far more powerful than the one she’d launched before, aimed directly at the Scriptwriter’s main body.

Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!!

A beam far more powerful than I had expected.

I could barely hold myself upright. I had to brace my right arm against the ground and shut my eyes tightly.

What overwhelming power.

Maybe this attack could actually leave a critical wound on the Scriptwriter.

Though, even so… I didn’t expect it to take him down completely—

“Big brother.”

“What happened?!”

“It failed.”

“…Huh?”

I quickly opened my eyes in shock.

And what I saw was the charred, ash-covered remains of a mass of flesh.

It was Minos, the one who had blocked our path just moments ago.

“What…?”

The Scriptwriter had definitely been down.

In that state, he shouldn’t have been able to do anything.

And yet Minos had intercepted Emily’s attack?

“An autonomous decision-making system?”

Even if the Scriptwriter’s main body goes down… there’s still an entity that can move and act independently?

He installed a function like that?

I hadn’t seen that coming.

No…that’s not true. I could have seen it coming. There were plenty of clues.

The moment those bioweapons appeared, I should’ve suspected this possibility.

Since it’s a bioweapon, it was only natural that it wouldn’t operate on electric signals or circuits. But I failed to consider that.

A clear mistake on my part.

At the very least, I should have included those monsters within the range of [Kaleidoscope – Synesthetic Expansion].

But because the spell is so difficult to maintain, I subconsciously excluded them. That was the problem.

“Kh…!”

Still…it’s not too late.

The Scriptwriter’s mind hasn’t come back yet. There’s still a window.

Emily can’t move. Helical Gear needs time to cool down.

I can’t move either. Just activating [Kaleidoscope] drained all of my mana. I was completely spent.

It was my trump card, and I went all-in. Yuna must be in the same state.

Thankfully, it’s not just me and Emily here.

If the others can pick up on what’s happening, they’ll launch an attack too.

Boooom!

A thunderous explosion echoed through the air.

Fortunately, it looked like Ariel was the first to pick up on our intent. She bombarded the Scriptwriter’s main body.

But it’s weak.

She already burned through a lot just getting here, so her firepower is lacking.

It must’ve dealt some damage, but not enough to bring him down.

Immun was likely in the same boat. Actually, given the situation, they might barely be holding on.

That leaves only one option I can rely on.

Booooooom!!

A blazing red brilliance surged forth.

Overwhelming force. The hero of Creta, Theseus.

“…What are you doing?”

But that ferocious light wasn’t aimed at the Scriptwriter.

It wavered, as if hesitating.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

You’re hesitating now? After coming this far?

I knew he wasn’t fully resolved. But I never imagined he’d waver at a time like this…right when we had the perfect opportunity.

A split-second from disaster.

Just looking at that flickering brilliance, I could sense Theseus’ hesitation.

Fzzk!

But it didn’t last long.

As if steeling himself, the light finally swung toward the Scriptwriter.

“Good.”

I was surprised. I could practically see his hesitation.

But if that’s all, it’s still within acceptable limits.

A fierce brilliance came flying in.

With that kind of power, it might just be enough to take him down in one blow.

But at that moment—

“Kuooooooohhhh!!!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Something came crashing down from the upper floors.

No….it tore through who knows how many levels as it descended.

A massive figure with the head of a bull.

Even compared to the Minos monsters we fought before, this one exuded a completely different level of overwhelming force.

And that monster…

“Kuooooooohhh!!”

Baaaaang!!

Blocked Theseus’s all-out attack.

That presence. That intensity.

“What…?”

And then it hit me—

I realized where that monster had come from.

Someone I knew was falling nearby.

“Dietrich…!”

The Sword Saint Dietrich was plummeting through the air, covered in blood.

It looked like he hadn’t just been struck by the monster. He’d been caught up and dragged down with it.

I’d never even considered the possibility of his defeat.

Of course not. This was the Sword Saint who had even taken down Kult.

Dietrich, defeated?

What was up there, on the top floor?

Was something so important hidden there that they had to station a monster like that to guard it?

No…more importantly, where are Helena and Jeff?

Boooooom!!

In that brief instant of thought, the monster stepped onto the earth.

The impact sent a shockwave, and Dietrich who had been falling alongside it was briefly lifted into the air.

Maybe because of that, he survived….even in a situation where being smashed to pieces would’ve been expected.

But things are far from optimistic.

– Ah, ah. Well, now. That was surprising.

An unexpected blow, I must say.

The Scriptwriter had come to his senses.

And that monster before us—

It’s on a completely different level from the others.

Even just seeing what it did to Dietrich tells you everything.

“So soon…?”

Still, isn’t this recovery a bit too fast?

No wait.

It’s not a full recovery yet.

The mechanical devices in the background creaked and groaned.

Cables with cameras hovered shakily through the air.

The Scriptwriter’s influence, which had once dominated the entire space, was now visibly weakened.

That means… there’s still a chance.

– This is making me nervous too, you know. Johan Damus, that was a brilliant move. You really caught me off guard.

I didn’t respond.

The Scriptwriter hadn’t pinpointed my location yet.

For now, the best option is to stay hidden and get as close as possible to the Scriptwriter’s core.

I just hope the others have caught on as well…

But realistically, very few people would notice this much.

Theseus, at least, is out of the question.

He’s already facing off against the monster that came crashing down earlier.

– I was quite flustered, you know.

“……”

– I panicked and had to bring out Asterion. It’s great that he’s so obedient, but I didn’t expect him to tear a straight path from the top floor all the way down here. Ha! Still… well. Now that it’s come to this, I guess I have no choice but to go all out too.

He talked too much.

– From here on out, it’s a time attack. For both of us.

Fine. Let’s see how this goes.

The situation’s better than before.

Of course, the Scriptwriter probably won’t be playing around with background manipulations anymore…

But there’s no doubt he’s weaker than last time.

All I can do now is seize that opening.

At this point, there’s only one person I can count on.

“I’m counting on you, Immun.”

Immun. The only one who would’ve noticed all this along with me.

***

Immun was weak.

Probably the weakest among everyone here.

He had already reached his limit long ago.

He hadn’t even made it to the final act of the Scriptwriter’s first chapter.

At best, he’d taken down a few androids with a couple of guns.

That was the extent of it.

Physically and mentally, he was already nearing his breaking point.

That’s why he was so easily overpowered by an android powered by a steam engine, forced to his knees.

He felt the weight of his own helplessness.

But then, an opportunity came to him.

A temporary blackout.

A brief moment when all the restraints that had bound him were released.

“Gah!”

This is it.

He couldn’t afford to miss this chance.

Amazingly, Immun had perfectly understood Johan’s intentions and purpose.

That meant he too had to respond to this opportunity. Of course, there wasn’t much someone as powerless as him could do.

But it wasn’t nothing.

Just once. All it would take was that one moment. He might not be able to bring the Scriptwriter down, but he could deal a fatal blow.

“Let’s go…”

Immun walked forward. He wasn’t anxious or afraid.

Even when he saw the radiance of Theseus with his own eyes, or when he encountered the monstrous being powerful enough to block that radiance—

He didn’t stop.

Even as the Scriptwriter’s systems slowly came back online and began scanning the surroundings, he kept moving.

In terms of resolve, he was faster and more precise than even Johan.

That’s why he was the first to reach the Scriptwriter’s core.

And then…

– Stop, Immun.

“……”

– I won’t allow you to come any closer. This is a warning.

“Scriptwriter.”

– You already know, don’t you? I never made a point to kill you. Same with the others. That means I’ve been going easy on all of you.

“Yes, I know.”

The fact that Immun was still alive now was proof enough of that.

The Scriptwriter had been holding back. Whether it was out of sentiment or because of some other plan, he didn’t know.

But now, things were different.

– If you take another step, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.

This wasn’t the same as before.

Immun had already discovered the Scriptwriter’s fatal weakness, and the Scriptwriter, now cornered, couldn’t allow that.

So he would have no choice but to kill him.

Click!

Immun pulled back the hammer of his revolver.

What lay before him was the Scriptwriter’s core. Specifically, the central control unit. Of course, that wasn’t the only control mechanism managing the Scriptwriter’s body.

Given its size, it was likely equipped with multiple control units.

But this would be enough. Immun wasn’t capable of achieving more than this anyway.

“Scriptwriter.”

– Stop, Immun. I don’t want to kill you.

Countless cables rose like snakes raising their heads, aiming at Immun.

Crimson lights targeted his heart and other vital points all at once.

Pulling the trigger—

It was obvious what the result would be.

“Scriptwriter, you already know.”

– ……

“You must know what kind of person I am.”

– ……Yes, I know very well.

“Then I’m glad. Just a little.”

Bang!

A single gunshot rang out.

A philosopher’s stone, refined through alchemy, embedded itself into the Scriptwriter’s core.

Immun’s attack was lethal. Chain reactions caused by the philosopher’s stone were overwhelmingly effective against machines made of metal.

“Haha!”

And then, the ending that had always been waiting for him came.

A beam of light pierced through his heart.

At the same time as Immun’s attack, the Scriptwriter’s counterattack struck his heart, brushing against the flame of his life.

Crack!

It was a fatal blow.

For both of them.

But one had only lost one of many parts, while the other was losing his life.

…And at the same time, one felt satisfaction, and the other felt regret.

– Yes… Well done, Immun. My proud disciple.

Immun listened to the Scriptwriter’s mechanical voice, tinged with regret, and replied:

“Thank you for everything, Master.”

He had held on to his convictions until the very end.

He had remained true to what he’d learned from Deus in life.

He had been acknowledged.

With that pride in his heart, Immun’s life came to a quiet end.