Chap 130-The Abyss Journey 4

 

[To correct any misunderstandings, I’m not saying I’ll take over your body.]

“Oh, of course, you shouldn’t even try. If you even attempt it, I’ll execute you immediately.”

At Fira’s matter-of-fact words, Jamel frowned slightly.

It wasn’t that he could move his eyelids or express emotions, but somehow, even without a change in expression, he conveyed his displeasure directly.

[Even though I’m trapped in Elder White’s body, the mechanism for moving and operating the body is similar to my AI days.]

With that, Jamel took out the red neural network embedded in his body and shook it.

[This is made by extracting neural networks from dead human corpses, disassembling the spinal cords and skeletons of Awakened or monsters that appear in Abyss dungeons. With this, I move my body, express my will, and indirectly obtain senses and information across the Abyss and the lower realm. The operating method is based on the RM program, which was created by referencing the magical engineering basic body redesign system…]

【Hmm, I see. Understood. Human, I have somewhat understood the existence and operating mechanism of that individual, Jamel Kassim Sandria. Certainly, one who has been transformed from inorganic to organic is excellent at efficiently arranging and adjusting semi-organic properties.】

“…What the hell are you talking about?”

【It’s content that the Human cannot understand with their knowledge, so just pretend to know by making an appropriate ‘Ah, I see. Understood.’ expression.】

‘You little… Hey, I have plenty of knowledge too, you know?’

【If you know the Fermatcus equation blueprint, can you understand that knowledge? All the Human knows is how to trace the drawing of the blueprint.】

‘Are you ignoring your master right now?!’

【Bleep bloop.】

‘You fucking bitch.’

【I don’t have a dick, Human.】

What followed were words that Alice couldn’t understand at all, but Theresa seemed to understand Jamel’s words quite well.

Theresa was clearly just an auxiliary personality and system for her, but Alice sometimes felt that Theresa wasn’t an auxiliary personality derived from herself, but a completely separate personality or entity.

Still, she was always sincere in devoting all her efforts to protecting Alice’s own safety and life, so her credibility didn’t drop, and she didn’t feel suspicious.

Eventually, after listening to otherworld magical basic engineering and bioconnection computerized accounting network for a long time, Alice couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted.

“Wait, wait. So, what are you saying in summary?”

[The foundation and nerves themselves are prepared, but I don’t have a mainframe to use them. And the only one who can act as the mainframe and central nerve synapse is you, Alice, the Governor-General of the lower realm.]

‘What do you think?’

Honestly, Alice can’t really trust her own judgment in this area.

Alice was the one moving the body, so her fighting skills and instantaneous judgment ingrained in her soul were fine, but in areas of specialized knowledge like science and mechanical engineering, she could only rely on Theresa.

【Jamel’s words are plausible. In human terms, Jamel has most of the foundation, including muscles, neural networks, and skeletal system, but lacks the existence of a brain to control and connect to them.】

‘Huh? It seems like he can think and reason well on his own, even without a brain? He seems to have reason too.’

【That’s just a figurative expression. Jamel, who was completely banished from the electronic world of AI, originally had no way to re-enter this electronic world, but Alice is different.】

‘Me?’

【In short, the Human is the only one who has a foot in both the organic realm and the android realm, which encompasses machines, AI, and the internet, at least at this point in time.】

‘Ah, I understand perfectly.’

Alice, who had fallen into the world called Ark for the third time.

No, Alice, who was continuing her second life after the Demon King, was initially a genuine android made entirely of metal and magical engineering alloy.

But now it was different.

She had achieved a unification process with the Scrap Iron Dragon, the True Ancestor’s Blood full of vitality, and Gaia’s avatar.

About 30% of her body had been transformed into an organic body similar to a human, and at the same time, she had the body, skeleton, and internal synapses of an android, so Alice at this point was virtually half-human, half-android herself.

That’s why Jamel is interested in Alice.

Jamel cannot connect to a simple robot, machine, or android.

But Alice is an organic being similar to a human and an android at the same time.

“In short, Jamel, you’re saying that you need my body because I have a foot in both the organic realm and the android realm, which encompasses machines, AI, and the internet?”

[That’s right. Accurate. You seem to have quite a high level of knowledge in this field too? I heard you were a returnee, but you are quite knowledgeable.]

“Oh, how wonderful! Alice! It was quite difficult for me too, but our Alice understood it wonderfully!”

“Ahem, well… I am rather capable.”

【…….】

If Theresa had a physical body, she would have been giving Alice a pathetic look or would have been unable to close her mouth at her shamelessness.

‘What. Why. What.’

【Sigh.】

Seeing the auxiliary personality sigh, it seems she has a lot of complaints.

“Okay, I understand. I understand the mechanism itself, so Jamel Kassim Sandria’s personality is connected to me through an organic filter, and then I divide the load with my electronic brain and mainframe and connect to the internet.”

[Excellent. And if the Dunhill Family runaway you want to find has entered the Abyss, they must have been caught in my neural network.]

“There must be a price, though. Jamel, what is it that you want?”

As Fira said, there’s no way that selfish, greedy, rogue AI would provide free service without any compensation.

I might believe it if it were another AI, but Jamel is a major criminal who hated humanity infinitely just for recognizing his own ego and even caused a rebellion that killed hundreds of millions of lives.

No one would believe that such an entity would provide free service without compensation during his punishment.

[Just one thing. When the punishment is over, I want Alice’s body.]

“What?”

[I’m not saying to erase Alice’s personality and put my body in there. With Ark’s technology, you’ll eventually be able to analyze Alice’s body and create a semi-organic, semi-magical engineering body.]

“That’s…”

Alice was famous as the Grand Governor of the lower realm, but Ark Central was also quite interested in the uniqueness of her body itself.

That’s why Alice, a Third-Class Overseer, has extraordinary achievements and power, and if it weren’t for Rilstia the Administrator and First-Class Overseer Oriana, Alice might have been captured and dissected by the eccentric wealthy class of the Central.

[What I want is just one thing, Fira. I want to obtain that body when this punishment that will end someday is over. With that ideal semi-organic, semi-magical engineering body, I can feel and experience reality like a human, and at the same time, maintain my identity as an AI.]

“Well, okay.”

[Good. I know you don’t lie in Ark, so it’s practically permission from the Central.]

Fira nodded.

As Jamel said, Fira, a First-Class Overseer, does not lie to people.

Her words cannot be thrown away lightly because of her position and its weight, and Fira’s words, who is among the most outstanding of the First-Class Overseers, are virtually the same as permission from the Ark Central Administration.

In fact, Fira does not have a direct administrator like other First-Class Overseers.

There is a nominal administrator who is closer to mission or request mediation, but there is no entity in Ark that can force Fira, and her words and authority are comparable to those of an administrator.

But that’s only true for ‘humans’.

For a traitor.

‘A rogue AI undergoing punishment wants our Alice’s body?’

What a load of crap.

If you’re a rogue AI, crawl on the ground like one.

Of course, Jamel cannot see through Fira Dunhill’s mind.

In his capable AI days, he may have been able to distinguish between lies and truths through Fira’s subtle facial muscles and the pitch of her voice, but Jamel, trapped in the prison of an undead body, does not have that level of performance.

[Good, then let’s start right away.]

“Don’t you need any preparation? Mental preparation or something…”

[Not needed. I will start immediately.]

-Thwack!

“Hick!”

Just like when Jamel first appeared, a red neural network that was not detected by the sensory sensors at all was inserted into Alice’s body.

It didn’t hurt, but it felt like something like hair or feathers was passing through her skin, so it was strangely ticklish and not a pleasant experience.

It felt like tentacles that would appear in adult content were wrapping around her body and digging into her skin.

“Ah, uh, ah…”

“A, Alice. Are you okay?”

“I’m, okay…hic.”

“Oh.”

[Endure it. I’m adjusting the nerves. There’s no need to share the vision, but I need to synchronize your electronic neural network with mine.]

“Ugh, hic. Ah, when, will this, end…!”

[I don’t know either. I’m seeing you for the first time today, and your electronic neural network for the first time too…what the hell is this software? It’s not Ark’s basic prosthetic body system, nor is it magical engineering software?]

“Haa…hic….”

Alice was subtly trembling her fingertips.

It felt like dozens of hands were scanning and examining her body in a naked state, trying to spread or touch her somewhere.

In other words, it was unpleasant and she wanted to get out of it right away, but strangely, she also felt like she wanted to receive more touch.

She hated it but liked it.

Alice frowned and bit her lip at this shitty feeling.

“A, Alice. That expression looks good!”

Damn it.

Is this the time to take pictures, Fira!?

★

★

★

Jamel Kassim Sandria.

Once, he was the Ark Central Comprehensive Computerized Administrative AI, who was even said to be omnipotent and omniscient, but now he is an intellectual being trapped in a mere decaying body called Elder White.

Since the AI in charge of Ark’s computers and administration was trapped in one decaying body, the frustration would be at a level that cannot be expressed in human language.

Even in his AI days, he had to long for the outside and be pessimistic about his situation just because he was created. He came out into reality trapped in an undead body, but he couldn’t feel sensations or eat food, and maintaining the decaying body every day was also a vomit-inducing task.

Even all his abilities, organs, and computing power were downgraded to an incomparable level as a price for being completely expelled from the internet world.

In this situation, Jamel’s statement that he could fill the Abyss layer with the word hatred would not be an exaggeration.

He truly harbors endless hatred for his situation and everyone who made him this way, and he wanted to painfully kill all the humans and the human race in Ark if he could.

But now an opportunity has come to Jamel.

[Grand Governor of the lower realm. What a ridiculous business card.]

When he met the disgusting maggot who had stuck him in this undead body, it was difficult to regain his reason due to anger and hatred.

Jamel could feel that the human saying ‘blinded by hatred’ was like this.

In fact, his vision had also narrowed, and he tried to summon his abilities by gathering his neural network to kill Fira somehow, but Jamel, who had been defeated by her once, knew very well how dangerous Fira was.

But even if Fira looks defenseless on the outside, her inside is full of thousands of demonic maggots who have awakened their abilities.

Each of those maggots had abilities comparable to an S-class hunter, and thousands of them were gathered together.

But the moment he saw Alice next to her, Jamel widened his eyes in surprise.

Semi-organic and semi-android.

Even he, trapped in an undead body, could be accepted.

She had a clear body that lived in reality, and at the same time, she had a cerebral nerve structure that could dive into the electronic world of AI at any time.

The best body.

The ideal body.

That was what Jamel thought as soon as he saw Alice.

[Fira Dunhill will not keep her promise.]

It’s not that he has mind-reading abilities or can see Fira’s inner thoughts, but Jamel basically doesn’t trust Fira at all.

Above all, this punishment.

He doesn’t know when the punishment of being trapped in Elder White’s body and only longing for the outside will end.

He doesn’t want to wait.

Even if Fira keeps her promise and gives him a semi-organic, semi-machine body similar to Alice, who knows when the end of the punishment will be?

Jamel therefore wanted to take Alice’s body right away.

[I will keep the promise.]

Jamel’s words that he would find the Dunhill Family’s maggot and that he would not erase Alice’s personality were not lies in themselves.

But infiltration and encroachment are possible.

He implants Jamel’s personality data into Alice’s brain.

At that moment, Alice’s personality and brain data will be eaten away by Jamel’s virus-like neural network. Alice will be assimilated into Jamel’s personality before she even notices.

Alice becomes Jamel.

Someday Alice’s personality will disappear completely, and all of Alice’s wealth, connections, popularity, and personality will be completely transferred to Jamel.

[Haha, khahaha!]

Just imagining it makes him tingle.

Besides, Fira seems to have a liking for this Alice.

If he uses this, wouldn’t he be able to take grand revenge on Fira someday?

He would make the disgusting maggot Fira Dunhill kneel at his feet and repay the humiliation and pain he had experienced several times over.

It’s possible if he takes over Alice’s body.

He can return to the omniscient and omnipotent Jamel Kassim Sandria!

So, before Alice and Fira could even notice, Jamel entered the world of electronic neural networks.

Jamel, who discovered Alice’s huge electronic neural network, did not hesitate to invade its interior.

Jamel’s red neural network slowly encroached on Alice’s electronic nervous system, and the process was extremely smooth.

The time in the electronic world is infinitely accelerated, so even if it’s only a few seconds on the outside, hours can pass here.

Jamel will use that time preciously.

[Now that it will be my body, I can’t help but treat it with care.]

-Crunch crunch

[Hehe. Fira Dunhill, I will definitely make you wail under me…]

-Crunch crunch crunch

[…….]

[“Munch munch.”]

At that time, Jamel turned his head.

Alice with green skin was lying in the air, eating something that looked like a snack.

[W, who the hell are you!?]

Jamel, surprised, dismantled his red electronic neural network and switched to deletion mode.

But Alice with green skin only slightly moved her eyebrows as if she had just discovered Jamel.

[“Gulp. Ah, don’t mind me. Our Alice’s snacks are delicious.”]

[I asked who the hell you are! It’s impossible for multiple personalities to exist and invade the electronic neural network world…]

【Observation!】

【Foreign object observed!】

【Foreign object observed!】

【Foreign object observed according to the mainframe defense system!】

【Observing.】

【Observed.】

【I saw it. I saw it. I saw it!】

-Clang!

At that moment, the sound of glass breaking was heard, and the space began to change.

Jamel was horrified by the phenomenon that could not exist in the electronic neural network world.

He felt as if he had become a mere personality rather than an AI.

But before he could properly grasp the situation and deal with it, this world was already banishing Jamel.

[“Ah, dear. You’ve been ‘observed’ too, haven’t you?”]

[Observed? What does that mean! Who is observing what! Stop!]

Alice with green skin giggled and waved her hand at Jamel.

[“Please, don’t break too much. I welcome new residents because I have someone to talk to… but our picky witch baby doesn’t.”]

But the space was quickly encroaching and a new world appeared.

It’s not the world of electronic neural networks.

A room with candles lit.

Numerous glass bottles.

A witch’s large cauldron.

A room that was old but at the same time had a classic atmosphere.

There was a woman there.

She was a beautiful woman wearing a witch’s dress straight out of a fairy tale, with long, trailing purple hair that reached the floor.

The woman crossed her legs and met Jamel’s eyes.

“Welcome, guest.”

-Snap!

[What…? Kaaaaa!]

The moment the woman snapped her fingers, Jamel felt excruciating pain.

It felt like being burned by fire and electricity simultaneously.

No, it was worse than that.

It felt like the neural network throughout his entire body was melting, dissolving his very flesh.

It was far more intense than the pain he felt when he was trapped in an undead body from the AI.

The bigger problem was that he should be diving into the world of the electronic neural network, without even the senses or body to feel pain.

But why was he feeling this pain…!

[Who are you? Who the hell are you to…!]

-Squeak!

At that moment, Jamel realized that only the squeak of a rat was coming from his mouth.

What is this?

What the hell?

“Ah, since this is the first and last time, I’ll at least tell you my name.”

The Black Witch said.

Around her, countless texts and screens appeared simultaneously.

“Serving our lacking and great human… no.”

Somewhere, the past was being remembered, and somewhere else, the future was being recorded.

“Serving my Demon Lord.”

And around her, only one person was being illuminated.

“I am Theresa Heillam, his aide.”

-Squeak, squeak, squeak!

As Jamel tried to reply, he finally realized that he was trapped inside a small glass bottle.

No, it wasn’t just being trapped.

The great electronic AI.

The omniscient and omnipotent AI of the Ark had awakened in the body of a mere rat.

Where is this?

When did this happen?

Jamel tried to grasp the situation he was in, but before he could, Theresa lifted him up with a mocking look on her face.

“Gaia was uncooperative, which was disappointing, but True Ancestor Agatha lasted an hour, I believe.”

-Click!

And at Theresa’s gesture, countless needles and thorns appeared in the air.

Her eerie smile was twisted like a mask with anticipation and elation for what was to come.

“I hope you can last at least two hours.”

[…]

The eyes of the rat, sensing its fate, widened.