Ch.305Iron Fortress Sturm (5)

# <Orchestra of Steel> is one of Matonica’s most powerful techniques. As it turns mechanical metal objects into monsters that she can control like her own limbs, it was lethal to androids.

I never expected it would apply to bioids whose bodies were largely organic as well.

“M-Master.”

Sonia staggered.

“My body is moving on its own! Something’s wrong!”

She approached slowly while gripping the calipers. Her movements gradually gained speed. Sensing danger instinctively, I moved away a step ahead.

“Brother!”

“Sister Ireh!”

“Sonia is being controlled by Matonica right now! To free her, we need to defeat the avatar!”

Everyone knew that fact. It was just difficult for me to accomplish with my abilities.

But humans are animals that divide labor. While I honed my academic skills, someone else honed their swordsmanship. I just needed to leave dealing with the avatar to someone specialized in that field.

There was one such person here.

“Rustila!”

“I know!”

Rustila, who had swiftly dispatched the monsters, charged at Matonica. I dodged Sonia, who was following me like a zombie, while contacting Cartesia over the radio.

[“Wait. This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of bug.”]

It seemed I wouldn’t get much help.

“What are you doing? Attack Rheinland quickly!”

Sonia’s gait alternated between speeding up and slowing down.

“Huh? That’s strange?”

Matonica, who had been waving her flagpole, tilted her head in confusion.

“Don’t stall! If you’re a machine, obey my commands like one!”

Sonia raised her calipers.

The motion seemed awkward for an attack. She wasn’t trying to throw or swing them. As she positioned them to strike downward, my eyes widened. Wait, could it be?

“I am… not a machine…!”

The next moment.

Crack!

Sonia stabbed the calipers into her own leg.

Myself, Zernya, and Ireh.

Everyone who witnessed it was left speechless.

“W-what is that girl doing?!”

Without hesitation, Sonia stabbed her other leg too. She collapsed with a long, thin groan.

“Damn it!”

While Matonica was flustered, Rustila seized the opportunity.

Rustila sliced through Matonica’s right leg as cleanly as cutting tofu. Black viscous liquid gushed from the cleanly severed surface.

“You little wench!”

Having a loud voice doesn’t make you better at combat. Perhaps it only helps you make a deeper, more profound death cry.

Like the skilled swordswoman she was, Rustila knew exactly what to do next. Her next target was either the trumpet or the flagpole.

Slash!

An elegant sword dance rushed forth like a figure skater. Matonica’s left arm fell like cherry blossoms greeting summer.

Rustila kicked the fallen trumpet toward me.

“Damn! Even my instrument!”

Without her trumpet, she couldn’t recover, and without her flagpole, she couldn’t conduct. Matonica’s defeat seemed imminent. Before suffering a complete loss, she waved her flagpole.

[— <Black Obsidian Gate> is being created.]

With a rumbling sound like moving massive stones, the windows were covered with obsidian. The structure resembled a door.

The center of the door was completely hollow, like a black hole. Matonica leaped into that black pit like a rabbit.

“You’ll see!”

Her figure disappeared as if devoured.

[— The effect of <Orchestra of Steel> has disappeared.]

“Running away like a coward…”

Rustila lowered her sword with disappointment.

“What about Sonia?”

“We need to check on her now. Zernya!”

Zernya, who had been hiding behind Ireh, peeked out.

After the battle ended, it was her stage. Zernya lifted Sonia’s skirt and examined her legs. Ruby-red blood was slowly spreading along the white stocking fibers.

“My goodness, how deep did she stab herself?”

“I can’t feel anything.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m not crazy. Rather, considering that Master might have been harmed because of me, it was an extremely rational choice.”

“No, you’re definitely crazy.”

Zernya sighed repeatedly as she began treatment.

Sonia wasn’t the only one with problems. My personal research space, which I had just set up, was now in ruins. It would take more time and money to clean it all up.

The only thing I managed to salvage was one of Matonica’s artifacts. As soon as I picked it up, the status window updated.

[— You have obtained ‘Blasphemous Trumpet (EX)’.]

[Regardless of pitch, each time it is blown, it stops time for 3 seconds. Can be stacked up to 3 times. While time is stopped, the caster can move freely but cannot directly interfere with the physical world.]

[“Interesting.”]

Since Cartesia seemed interested, I immediately transferred it to subspace. I didn’t need it right away anyway.

More than that, I was worried about Sonia.

Zernya falsified Sonia’s identity and had her hospitalized. Zernya even participated directly in the operation. Only after several hours did the lights in the operating room turn off.

“How did it go?”

“It wasn’t a difficult surgery. She won’t be disabled. But tell her to rest quietly for a while.”

Only then could I feel relieved.

“Thank you, Zernya.”

“Really, she should be more careful with such reckless actions…”

Was it because she was an avatar? Sonia’s recovery rate was amazingly fast. According to Zernya, despite stabbing with the intention of piercing through, the bone was already healing quickly.

“At this rate, she should be able to leave the hospital within a week.”

“Still, rest properly. It might get worse.”

“Who will take care of Master’s meals and housework while I’m like this?”

“I’ll manage on my own.”

“You’re planning to just eat energy bars, aren’t you?”

“What’s wrong with energy bars?”

Just a bite or two makes you feel full, they’re easy to store, and they’re even cheap. What better high-tech food is there?

If I save on food expenses by eating only these, I could save enough electricity to power the computer for writing papers.

Sonia frowned disapprovingly.

“Energy bars were originally eaten as substitutes by impoverished frontier citizens who had nothing else to eat. Master, who has means, needs a balanced diet for more effective research activities. Don’t you want to live longer?”

“It’s fine. I can manage with these for now.”

“You’ll drop dead that way.”

As Sonia and I were having this light argument, Ireh intervened. She unpacked a bundle in front of us and said:

“It’s okay. I can take care of it.”

“Miss Ireh?”

The bundle emitting a savory aroma was unwrapped. She had brought a lunchbox. It contained simple combinations like sandwiches, bacon, and fries.

“I didn’t have much time today, so this is all I could make.”

Even the same dish can vary greatly in quality depending on who cooks it and what ingredients they use. In that respect, Ireh was quite a skilled cook.

Sonia’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you make this, miss?”

“Most vegetables grown in the frontier don’t taste good. I learned to cook a bit so we could at least enjoy our meals. Of course, since coming here, ordering food has become the norm.”

“I didn’t realize you could help in this way.”

“Yeah.”

Ireh laughed awkwardly. Something about the atmosphere felt strange, and when I looked at her, she avoided my gaze. Sonia stabbed the lunchbox repeatedly with her fork and shrugged.

Suddenly, I checked the time.

The best-case scenario would be for the two outer gods to keep fighting until they destroy each other, and the worst-case scenario would be for them to form an alliance against astronomical odds.

I would need to monitor the situation for a few more days.

Of course, according to my predictions, the worst-case scenario was more likely.

***

The battle between the Queen and the Iron Fortress continued for days.

Aurora single-handedly increased her forces to counter Sturm. Her endlessly multiplying forces had the advantage in an all-out war.

Since the two outer gods were of equal rank, Sturm had no choice but to lose some territory.

But that was as far as Aurora could go. Her forces also crumbled helplessly against the Maxwell-type attacks that manipulated entropy. They recovered quickly, but couldn’t advance further.

Finally, the two forces reached a dynamic equilibrium.

While the battle was at a stalemate, Matonica returned.

“Lord Sturm!”

“You’re back. How did it go?”

“I’m sorry! I failed my mission, please punish me!”

Matonica bowed her head deeply.

The result was obvious. Sturm, who had been chewing on a flesh monster with steel teeth, spat it out and said:

“I expected you to fail anyway. The reason I sent you was to make him think that the Queen and I might have formed an alliance.”

“Then!”

“Retreating was a good choice. Thanks to that, that Rheinland fellow’s mind will be even more confused.”

Sturm said this while surveying the battle situation. Queen Aurora seemed to be getting annoyed as well, as the scale and frequency of her attacks had gradually decreased.

“Hey, Queen. Shall we have a little chat?”

“I told you. I won’t compromise with you in the slightest.”

“Compromise? What I’m about to do is make concessions.”

At those words, the Queen’s movements came to an abrupt halt. It was very rare for the word “concession” to come up between outer gods.

“Concessions?”

“Yes, concessions. I’ll return all of your territory that our forces invaded and took. I’ll also provide ‘seeds’ for your new avatar. And I’ll hand over control of that galaxy entirely to your forces.”

“You lie so easily. What benefit do you get from this?”

“So that both of us can continue to peacefully coexist here.”

Sturm revealed all the information he knew about Eidel.

“The gravity weapon he’s creating is extremely dangerous. That’s why I suspected he might be Laplace’s avatar or incarnation. Everything falls into place too perfectly for him.”

“And?”

“Let’s form an alliance until we completely kill him.”

“An alliance.”

The Queen snorted.

“You must think I’m weak enough to form an alliance with the likes of you. How presumptuous. I have lived in a world of survival of the fittest since birth. Having finally adapted and risen to this position, I have no reason to stand shoulder to shoulder with someone like you.”

“No, you must form an alliance with me.”

Sturm gave three reasons.

“First, your subordinate outer gods are still in Rheinland’s hands. You lost the war, so do you think you can win alone? Absolutely not. You’ll surely be trapped again.”

“…”

“Second, the Darwin system is, as you say, survival of the fittest. Even if you save all your kind, no one knows if they’ll crown you ‘Queen’ again after you’ve been defeated once.”

“You…”

“Finally, third. The ‘end’ is approaching. This is not something to be taken lightly. If we remain divided, there is no future except mutual destruction.”

The Queen fell silent, deep in thought.

Aurora wasn’t a fool either. She had power but had lost credibility, and while violence often took precedence, her plans frequently lacked support.

It was clear who was in the dominant position and who was subordinate.

“…I’ll kill you immediately if you try anything foolish.”

“Well thought.”

The Queen and the Iron Fortress simultaneously withdrew their tentacles.

The two outer gods agreed to a temporary ceasefire and set policies for the near future. Rest and recovery were the priorities now.

Sturm unusually returned all the territory he had taken from the Queen and even gave her a portion of his own domain. Only then did the Queen begin to set aside her suspicions.

“While we’re like this, other outer gods might enter.”

“You mean Descartes?”

“Yes. If it’s him, he’s probably rushing here excitedly. It would be best to conserve our strength until he stirs up that galaxy.”

In the end, the worst-case scenario that Eidel had anticipated came to pass.

***

Sonia’s wounds healed quickly, and soon she was ready to be discharged. On the day of completing the discharge procedures, I overheard a brief conversation between Sonia and Zernya.

“I have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“Please allow me to marry Master.”

Zernya’s reaction was one of disbelief.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“I know you’re concerned about me. That I’m a robot with unverified credentials and might damage the Rheinland reputation, or that as an avatar I’m vulnerable to outer gods. But all these points can actually be refuted.”

Zernya had easily manipulated Sonia’s identity when admitting her to the hospital. And the argument about vulnerability to outer gods was automatically refuted when Sonia stabbed her own legs.

“The reason I don’t refute otherwise is because I’ve decided to show respect to those whom Master loves.”

Sonia bowed deeply in respect. Zernya didn’t say anything further.

In fact, Sonia had already obtained permission from Rustila. If Zernya agreed, she could become my partner through unofficial means at any time.

From the Great War to the Megnus Order and recently with Matonica—was it because she had witnessed several attempts on my life?

“…Do as you please.”

An unexpected answer fell from Zernya’s lips.

“Are, are you serious?”

“I’m tired now. You two are going to be together anyway, and staying in this kind of relationship will only give us both headaches. Just come in as his wife. Considering what you’ve done so far, I’ll accept you too.”

Her tone was arrogant, but there was a melancholic emotion mixed in. Having known her for so long, I could tell her true feelings from her tone.

I would need to comfort her later.

“Thank you, madam! Thank you so much!”

Sonia’s hands trembled as she hugged me tightly. Zernya clicked her tongue and left to get back to work.

As I shared a long embrace with Sonia, I organized my thoughts. Apart from being happy, there was something strange.

[“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t make sense. The <Orchestra of Steel> effect shouldn’t have much impact on bioids due to their physical data structure. Moreover, it’s theoretically impossible for my direct avatar to lose control of her body…”]

“…Did you notice?”

Before Cartesia could finish speaking, Sonia broke the embrace, looked at me, and whispered:

“It was an improvised act, but it worked critically well.”

She flashed a V-sign with both hands and raised the corners of her mouth. Only then did I understand the answer to the problem that had remained unsolved for days.

“I look forward to your continued support, husband.”

I felt a chill run down my spine.