Ch.91The Great Chaos (8)

Damn it.

I’m not dead after all.

***

I open my eyes.

There’s a gap in my memory from the last few seconds. I reassess the situation.

Irreparable damage has been inflicted on my brain, my most advanced computational device. The auxiliary computational devices connected to my brain are also malfunctioning.

The consciousness thinking right now is the personality of the auxiliary brain chip that backs up the main brain’s memories in real time—essentially, a digitized self.

With the help of the Lightning Tower, I had successfully created an almost perfect copy of my consciousness, but since the computational power of the brain chip is inferior to Talo’s original brain, it was prepared as a backup self for emergencies.

Powerful magical energy grabs hold of my departing soul. A necromancy formula follows. The vessel for this sacred ritual is the magical core connected to my brain chip.

The time from brain damage to soul adhesion is mere seconds. During this interval, automatically activated artifacts handle the defense.

After a short-range teleportation, physical barriers are instantly erected. The backup Talo examines the condition of the body.

‘Everything above the neck is worthless now.’

The finely calibrated computational auxiliary devices tuned to the brain’s wavelength have lost their usefulness as the brain itself is destroyed. I’ll need to find another use for them.

Naturally, the spatial alchemy maintained by Talo’s computational ability becomes ineffective. Talo’s judgment is swift.

Before the spatial alchemy is completely deactivated, he prepares the most suitable weapon for battle.

He scatters magical energy throughout the barrier. The ground, stained silver, rises up. With Talo as the nucleus, even the air is transmuted into a massive silver sphere.

From the sky and from the ground, transmuted silver iron rushes toward Talo. A silver iron storm with Talo himself as the eye.

Talo waves his fingers. With a brutal gesture, his brain disassembles, and three auxiliary computational brains fall into the storm of silver iron.

Powerful alchemy forces the calibration of the auxiliary brains. Despite some discrepancies, the synchronization with the brain chip is successful.

The auxiliary brains spread in an inverted triangle formation with the chip at the center. Talo draws a magic circle using the three auxiliary brains and the brain chip as focal points.

The torrent of silver iron serves as a sculpting tool. The gathered iron is carved and hollowed, taking form.

Limbs sharply carved like crystal. A body gleaming with strange radiance.

It was a giant of steel.

***

This is why I hate the Ten Towers.

The towering giant blocks the sun and looks down at me. Dazzling backlighting flows along its silver body. The light pollution is unbearable.

The giant takes a step.

Even this simple movement makes the earth scream. The vibration exceeds the clash of thunder strikes and silver worms.

“What harm would it do to die quietly?”

As soon as I cut Talo’s head in half, his body disappears into the distance. My eyes detect where Talo teleported to, but it was too far to track with just a few magic engraving drives.

I blocked the impact of the fall using the “Gust” magic engraving drive as a buffer, but the distance had widened. By the time I could run over, his spell was complete.

In the end, Talo withdrew his spatial alchemy and transformed into what appeared to be a robot about several dozen meters tall. In a situation where his computational power for using magic was noticeably reduced, complex spells like barriers would have been a bad move.

But gathering all the silver iron to transform into a robot?

A magician’s trump card is a combining robot? Even a passing dog would laugh at this.

The truly funny thing is that it’s actually effective.

The boosters deployed behind Mecha-Talo ignite with a fierce roar. Powered by the acceleration from the explosive flames, Mecha-Talo’s right fist crushes Arguirion’s angel.

From behind, angels aim their magic at the crown of his head—what would normally be a blind spot for humans. But at that moment.

A crackling mechanical synthetic voice is heard.

“Haha! Do you think a radar’s field of vision is the same as a human body’s?”

Talo thrusts his left hand out forcefully. It was empty air.

But.

“Rocket-Punch!”

Despite clearly being a mechanical synthetic voice, unmistakable joy can be felt. The left hand he extended separates at the wrist and, ejecting jet streams, launches toward the angels above his head.

I understand why Arguirion, who must be raising dozens of silver worms, has consistently avoided all-out war with the Ten Towers.

When an elder who rushed out without proper preparation can put on this kind of performance even with his neck severed, what weapons would a proper ‘Tower’ bring?

Isn’t this too much, even for the Silver Iron Tower that specializes in many-against-one combat?

CRASH!

Talo’s launched left hand smashes into the ground along with several of Arguirion’s angels. The mangled state of the angels is horrific. In such a condition, regenerative abilities become meaningless.

‘If these angel fellows were in their right mind, they’d be trying to escape by now.’

If Arguirion withdrew from this place, I would finally have a method to try. If they’re going to flee, the sooner the better…

“Now, my dear research subject who blew away my brain that was still under warranty! Where might you be?”

I prayed that Arguirion wasn’t in their right mind.

***

Talo focused on recalibrating the auxiliary brains that continued to malfunction.

Unable to compute the movements of this enormous body on his own, he had repurposed parts as a temporary measure, but once back at the tower, he would need to request brain regeneration from the Green Eye Tower—though this had low feasibility—or have proper specialized parts made.

There was a delay of several seconds between command and execution. A magician’s ability lies in correcting this in real-time to take action, but this wasn’t Talo’s original brain.

Nevertheless, the current situation was quite enjoyable. This mighty silver iron giant was now his body.

Incomparable strength to a body made of mere cloth. With fingertips that could crush mountain peaks and feet that could destroy cities.

He savored his destructive power as he tried to recall his fallen left arm.

“Retrieval is not possible.”

He couldn’t retrieve the launched left arm at the moment. Maintaining the body alone was at the limit; he couldn’t perform the complex technique of pulling back and reattaching the launched body part.

Various weapons built into the body would also be impossible to regenerate or reuse once used.

It wasn’t a form he could maintain for long anyway. He would need to strike with tremendous force at once, discard unnecessary parts, and return to the tower.

“The most valuable trophy to take back to the tower is…”

Talo thought about that ‘knight.’

The exquisite skill to break through the anti-ki field and cut him down. Perhaps like the heads of knight families from ancient texts, masters of combat techniques?

This was no ordinary person.

For now, a far more interesting research subject than Arguirion. The extradimensional magical power contained in the angels’ silver skin could be somewhat understood through alchemy that reversely infiltrated them.

But he couldn’t guess how the anti-ki field was breached. Circumstances made it clear that the field was somehow neutralized, but those few seconds when his brain was destroyed weren’t backed up.

A true researcher gets excited by the unknown.

Talo activated the radars installed throughout the giant’s body to their maximum. Where could that knight be?

***

Where? I’m climbing up your legs.

Thoughts flowing through Mecha-Talo’s magical circuits pierce my mind. His strange excitement and obsession are disturbing.

The situation is better than when I was in the air. Then, I had to use drives to forcibly extend my flight time, but now I have walls to grab and climb.

I can see four pulsating lights inside the giant. One near the heart. Two others positioned at both shoulders and the lower abdomen. I don’t have enough firepower to destroy them all at once, but…

‘There’s another way.’

I checked the remaining capacity of my few remaining magic engraving drives.

***

Talo sensed magical energy stirring near the giant’s knee. Turning his gaze there, he saw that ‘knight.’ The one who maintained a human form alone, wearing Arguirion’s colors but unlike the angels.

The pitch-black sword in his hand looked familiar. The blade was embedded in the giant’s knee. The fluctuation of magical power he felt must have originated from the high-frequency blade.

Talo deployed a small portion of the lethal weapons equipped on his body. A test fire to gauge the opponent’s durability.

Click-click.

But something went wrong. A malfunction in the firing sequence.

The launch port doesn’t open. The warhead detonates. Then, explosion.

The chain reaction was instantaneous. Explosives embedded around the thigh area all detonate at once. The inside of the giant burns.

Mecha-Talo’s left thigh glows red hot, bubbling and melting. The massive body tilts and collapses. After precariously maintaining balance, it finally wobbles.

In the moment before toppling, Talo made his judgment.

It was that knight’s doing.

If he could cause a chain reaction before the launch…

What if he self-destructed from the start?

***

Ortes cursed.

Near the knee he was hanging from, all the ports on Mecha-Talo’s right leg opened.

All targeting him.

Point-blank explosions that disregarded damage from chain reactions.

This will require resolve.

As Ortes was about to draw out his ability and envelop his eyes with it—

“What are you doing now?”

A familiar voice brushed past his ear.