episode_0081

Petal machines have one fatal flaw.

An inherent limitation, a problem that cannot be solved no matter what.

That is, if even one petal stops, the entire machine stops.

It’s obvious if there’s a way to immediately stop one petal.

Cause a “bug.”

Literally, push a bug into the petal.

But what if there’s a clever bug next to you who understands and willingly throws itself into the petal?

“I hate it! I hate it! I really hate it! It’s disgusting to be in pain!”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“You were going to tell me to die stuck in the petal! I know it! Don’t pretend! I don’t want to die anymore! It hurts so much I feel like I’m going crazy! Stop saying it’s not your problem so casually!!!”

“······.”

I haven’t even made a request yet.

The girl jumps around resisting like having a seizure.

Of course, she doesn’t want to.

She has to fully experience the excruciating pain.

Or I could threaten her to forcibly throw herself into the petal machine.

Saying she’ll be handed over to the guards if she doesn’t listen.

Then she’ll surrender to me right away.

But she’ll probably start treating me like an archenemy from now on.

Through twelve regressions, I’ve learned something urgent.

It’s best not to incur resentment if possible.

Not all encounters can be good.

But at least making the parting pleasant is beneficial.

A master of disguise and adept in magic and spells.

Turning such a person into an enemy would be foolish.

Even if not my ally, at least not an enemy.

“I’m leaving! I’ll leave before the Clock Tower blocks the tunnel! I’ll go back the way I came!”

“······.”

“I clearly said it! I’m leaving! Don’t hold me back!”

“······.”

“Why… aren’t you stopping me… it’s scary…”

As the girl walks towards the tunnel loudly, her steps gradually slow down.

Her pupils tremble, watching my every move.

She seems scared that I might attack her if she tries to escape.

“If you want to go, go.”

“Really? Is it okay?”

It’s not okay.

The boss monster has awakened and caused chaos, there might have been earthquakes and chaos everywhere.

If the rumors spread, Yerina would be the first to react.

If I give up and go back, I won’t be able to come back after recovering my magic.

By then, Yerina would probably have arrived at Petal City.

I have to finish things here today.

There’s no next time.

“You can go. But listen to my proposal before you go.”

“You’re telling me not to go, right?!”

“You’re free to go. Just listen to me for now.”

So I have to make an offer she can’t refuse to keep her here.

An offer that she can’t ignore, even if it means enduring the pain of death.

“A deal. You push your clone into the petal machine to break it. In return, I’ll give you what you want the most.”

“I don’t want anything?! I hate pain the most in the world! No matter what the exchange condition is, I won’t die! I heard everything, so can I leave now?”

“For example, I’ll provide you with magic and energy for the rest of your life.”

“······!”

As Yerina, who was walking towards the tunnel, turns around, her body trembles.

Then, she slowly turns to me, sending a look that seems to ask if I’m serious.

It’s hard not to be swayed.

Because this is a matter of the main body’s survival.

‘She must have done a lot of reckless things in the past to get magic.’

Even though she can freely use the disguise skill, Yerina is fundamentally a monster.

Her true form is that of a giant spider.

In the end, whether maintaining the disguise skill, using spells, or even breathing and consuming stamina, she always has to consume energy.

And there’s only one way to obtain that energy.

By taking it from a living being.

The act of taking energy always comes with great risks.

If caught, she would become a target for extermination and be chased until she dies.

For survival, she has to repeatedly engage in risky energy absorption.

“You can see my magic level and understand. If you convert it to magic and save it, you can use it to your heart’s content. If you use it sparingly, it could last for a month? When you run out, come back to me. I’ll recharge it for you.”

“Really… really…?”

I can erase that risk for her.

Without the danger of being caught and killed by the guards.

Without the worry of being captured and subjected to experiments.

Just like getting gas at a gas station, she can replenish her magic from me and live on.

I have now declared that I will guarantee the right to survival for the Ginesu girl.

“How about it? Endure the pain of death once, and live comfortably for the rest of your life. Or live dangerously again?”

“Uh, uh uh uh!!! How can I refuse this!”

“I told you. I will give you what you desire the most.”

“Just now. Do you have a means to guarantee it?”

“I don’t. You have to trust me.”

“······.”

The Ginesu girl glares at me with tear-filled eyes.

And then, with a grimace of agony, she tightly clenches her teeth.

And then, she suddenly collapses.

“Ah! I’m going to die! It’s better to die! Instead! I will definitely keep my promise!”

“Of course.”

The deal is made.

Seemingly prepared, the wavering gaze of the Ginesu girl, who was shaking just moments ago, straightens up.

She looks up at the clock tower, then silently points her finger.

“Ah!”

At that moment.

The duplicate body, trembling in fear, suddenly stands up.

No longer crying, no longer trembling.

It seems like the complete control has been taken by the duplicate.

The duplicate soon transforms into the appearance of Ginesu, and with swift movements, it descends the clock tower’s wall and slips through the cracks between the bricks.

“It doesn’t matter what form it takes. You must firmly tuck your body in. If you don’t want to go through this again.”

“I know!”

The Ginesu girl responds irritably.

Not long after, the Ginesu girl’s eyes widen.

Her eyes are bloodshot.

Blood flows from her mouth as she grits her teeth.

“Promise! I said I would keep it! A man should not go back on his word!!!”

And then, with a crack.

From inside the clock tower.

The sound of the hard shell breaking and shattering can be heard.

“Aaahhh!!!”

At the same time, the Ginesu girl screams in pain, contorting her body.

As if being sucked into a leaf machine, her body folds and unfolds.

Due to the connection between the duplicate and her senses, it seems to be affecting her main body as well.

If this continues, something might break and get hurt.

“Tsk······.”

In the end, I embrace the struggling giant Ginesu to support her from folding.

If it had been the appearance of a girl all along, it would have been fine, but······.

It seems he didn’t care about the duplicate’s appearance, and he transformed into Ginesu and continued.

“Ugh, ughhh! Aghhh! It hurts, it hurts!!!”

“Ugh. I’m going to throw up.”

I had to endure being hit by the numerous Ginesu legs that were wriggling.

The back is hard.

The stomach area is subtly soft, with a somewhat slimy texture.

It was creepy, so I tried to keep my face away, but for some reason, I wanted to keep touching the texture······.

Of course, it’s just the texture.

It doesn’t mean I like bugs.

[Hate······ Hate······ Hate······ Hate······]

As the black smoke billows, the movement of the clock tower, which was coming towards me without hesitation, gradually slows down.

Soon, the sound coming from the speaker also becomes sluggish.

The legs that were clattering also come to a complete stop.

“Ha! Haaah! Huaaah······. Promise······ Promise, you must keep it······.”

“Good job.”

The exhausted giant Ginesu leans on me.

As the duplicate dies and the connection is severed, the Ginesu girl’s painful screams also stop.

Now, I don’t have to worry about her body twisting anymore, so I gently lay her on the ground.

“······Be good.”

Mijung, who is squatting in front of her, strokes Ginesu’s head.

The Ginesu girl leaves Mijung for a moment and now I should go get the dungeon core.

Stepping on the motionless legs, I climb up and crawl up the brick wall of the clock tower.

It’s not so difficult that I can’t climb up.

At the end of the unexpected rock climbing, I reach the clock face.

There is a recess inside where I can take a break.

Barely climbing up and leaning my body against it.

[Hate······ Hate······ Hate······]

“How is the speaker still moving separately from the main drive unit? Is it still functioning?”

The huge eyeball stares at me right in front of my face.

It keeps repeating the same words.

I don’t understand what’s so hateful.

I can’t understand, and I don’t even want to understand.

It’s time to cut the puppet strings.

“How do I explain this to Keren?”

Taking a deep breath and starting the climb again, my mind has become complicated.

What should I say to Keren?

That Linda, who you brought to the clock tower, awakened as a monster and eventually gained intelligence?

If you mutter such words to Kerne, who is already weak, you might really end up dead.

Should I hide then······.

The dilemma deepens.

“Hoo.”

Finally arriving at the top of the Clock Tower.

The brilliant dungeon core reveals itself.

With the sound of grinding from inside the Clock Tower and the vibrations that seem to indicate something about to break free from within.

It emits a harsh noise as if completely shattering the body of the puppet trapped inside and starting to move again.

I must hurry to finish the task.

Before extracting the dungeon core.

I take out a black mana stone from my bag and hold it in my hand.

[Kali’s Soul]

[Condition: Starvation]

[A magical tool made from the soul of the Grand Druid Kali. It will bloom when the time comes.]

[Accumulated amount: 2,850/62,500]

“Thanks to you, I’ll be eating magic well.”

There’s no need for any special manipulation.

Perhaps due to the condition of ‘starvation,’ black mana begins to emanate from the entire Clock Tower and gathers around Kali’s soul.

And the accumulated amount keeps rising endlessly.

Soon, the Clock Tower falls silent as if nothing had happened.

Just standing there as if it had been an ordinary Clock Tower from the beginning.

[10,500/62,500]

The accumulation amount is enormous.

About 8,000 or so.

This alone is quite a significant harvest.

“Let’s go.”

The moment I pull out the dungeon core.

The entire dungeon starts to collapse with a rumble.

I must quickly escape before being crushed by the ceiling······.

Something bothers me.

I can’t just leave.

“Mijung! I’ll drop the dungeon core, so catch it well!”

“······Yujin?”

“I’ll go out first with the bug! I’ll follow you soon!”

Swiftly dropping the dungeon core, Mijung catches it steadily with both arms.

Mijung seems momentarily confused, then

“······I must. Come, right?”

“Of course.”

I nod without saying anything unnecessary.

And then I lift the giant puppet, still lying weakly, and run through the tunnel.

I need to hurry too.

Holding onto the bricks, I slowly descend and reach the clock face.

As I do, a large eyeball moves along with me and meets my gaze again.

Unlike before, the eyes don’t feel like flesh.

They seem to have given up, looking tired.

“What’s the meaning of this······!”

And then, bang.

I punch the clock face, shattering the glass.

Inside, there is a dizzying array of mechanical gears.

I see the body of the giant puppet caught in the large gear.

I jump down and land on the large gear.

Jump down again.

And again······.

Repeating the process, I gradually descend.

‘It’s really a waste.’

No matter how you look at it, it’s a waste to leave a genius engineer like Kerne as a senile old man.

If Kerne, who can still contribute to the magical industry, is given the drive to live again, what would happen?

Instead of making a disposable magical tool and returning to a senile state.

If I can continue to make magical tools whenever Kerne needs them, the difficulty of returning home will surely decrease.

I can’t stand it.

“I found it.”

In the deepest part of the Clock Tower.

Through a crevice, I discover a mechanism that looks alien to anyone.

A weak point that shines red when pressed.

This is Linda’s logic circuit.

Since I don’t have any tools to dismantle it, I have no choice.

I roughly break the surrounding connections with force and extract Linda’s logic circuit.

[Why······ Why······]

“Why?”

A bewildered, trembling voice flows through the speaker.

Why.

It’s a stupid question.

“Because it’s worth saving.”

[······!]

A circuit containing a man’s lifelong efforts.

Reviving the era of the already ended clockwork dolls.

Opening the era of artificial souls, it’s an innovation.

The moment magical engineering will regress for decades if lost.

Leaving such an item to be destroyed is akin to a sin.

Of course, even without explaining or justifying like this.

A perfect explanation can be given in one sentence.

“It’s a romance.”

Finally, as I dismantle Linda’s logic circuit.

Kwoong!

The ceiling of the dungeon collapses.

The Clock Tower has fallen.