Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

Buzz——————!

The sound like a violent wind came again.

It did not come from the "Iron Leviathan" who was an enemy, but from Ashetherin - who could be considered a partner. This incident did not ease Ella Hepper's anxiety until Ashetherin's voice was heard again.

"Confirmed to be effective."

“Is it effective?”

Ella was so moved that she almost cried - she wouldn't cry, but these were indeed the words she had been waiting for for a long time.

"Ella, please do one thing."

"what?"

"Whatever means you use - add magic power to 'Crime and Punishment', and then try to cut the nearby shadows."

"What are you thinking?"

Although she doubted it, since Ashetherin gave such an order only after saying that, it proved that she had something to verify further - no matter how bad a mechanical puppet she was, at least she would not joke with Lunicia's life. Ella was sure of this, so the magic power that was intertwined with black and dark purple and full of ominous aura wrapped around the blade in her hand like a flame.

If you want to experiment, then give it your all.

His figure flashed, and a light pink meteor streaked across the sky - and then, a pitch-black wave splashed up.

"[Magic Energy Slash]."

Just like cutting butter, the seemingly indestructible wall became fragile under the tip of the sword and a long cut was torn. The shadow chosen as the target also shook violently and was almost cut in half along with the wall.

--This is……?

The strange feeling made Ella wonder. But she didn't dwell on it. She immediately threw out her hook and left her current position. The shadows around her surged up at the same time, trying to submerge Ella and Lunicia.

"It seems like something was cut—"

"I see. Then, there are two conclusions that can be drawn at present."

Buzz——————!

The words paused for a moment, and instead, a dazzling stream of light swept across the corner of Ella's vision. The two were flying across each other in this space at the same time, without any real-time communication about their positions, but it was quite magical that there seemed to be no possibility of accidental injury. The direction of Ella's gliding and the angle of Asheselyn's flying, the range and grappling hook of "Conqueror Marduk", the two always converged cleverly and then never intersected. In this way, while supporting each other, it also eliminated the overly stupid collision and damage.

Should we say that this is a manifestation of their incompatibility of natures, or should we say that they work together perfectly?

"First, 'light' is not a completely useless element. Congratulations, Miss Ella."

"...Well, I can probably guess the principle."

It's actually very simple.

Since "those things" are shadows and can only interact with objects that also exist on the plane of "shadows", the element of light will inevitably have an impact on them. Of course, as can be seen from the previous situation, increasing the light cannot eliminate them, and they will not disappear from the world so simply, but the point is not here, but the impact of light on things outside the shadows.

That’s right, it’s the impact on Lunesia and her group themselves – as long as they use a light source such as a “shadowless lamp”, they can eliminate their own shadows, and as long as they don’t leave shadows on the wall, “those things” will temporarily lose the ability to interfere with Lunesia and her group.

From what happened before, it can be easily judged that these shadow-like monsters can harm and control the flesh through contact at the "shadow" level. As long as the possibility of contact between the two is cut off, both sides will return to two worlds of non-interference.

“It’s not that simple to achieve.”

"Can't it keep glowing?"

"The positions of Ella and this machine are constantly changing, and that will interfere with the battle."

"Is this a battle?—Well, what about the second point?"

At the same time, Ella's eyes continued to wander.

As they talked like this, the situation continued to deteriorate, and she had to find out what she should do before all her efforts were ruined by her own stupidity. The tide of shadows, at first glance, looked exactly the same everywhere, but in fact it was absolutely impossible. They were not programs calculated by the compound difference engine, but complex and unpredictable "weirdness" in reality, with their own laws of action, but they did not act according to a unified route.

With this idea in mind, Ella finally found the weak point in the torrent.

In other words – there may be locations with relatively few shadows.

Is that an exit, or a trap?

The coexisting possibilities entangled her, but her body failed to react to them. Neither the trembling that should have existed nor the sweating of the palms appeared on the girl's seemingly natural body.

"Secondly, the attack is not completely ineffective against these 'shadows', but this machine cannot analyze what the effect specifically represents from the current samples."

"What do you mean?"

Ella frowned.

"Isn't it that the attack is effective if it is effective?"

"That is, the attack failed to cause any damage to it, but it did have a certain impact - the specific impact is still unknown."

"unknown……"

This seemed to have no effect on the current situation - as for what effect it had, at least from Ella's perspective it was completely unclear.

Ella's tone sounded like a sigh.

"So, what do you think, Ash?"

"You seem very confident, dear dancer."

"I'm not your dancer - can using strong light interference temporarily stop their attack?"

"As you said."

"Then move with me, and the moment I start swinging the hook—"

"The light you expect will come as expected."

At least now, they really have a tacit understanding.

Chapter 20: The Shadows' Stage

"Ella."

"..."

"Miss Ella?"

"Ah, ah?"

"Are you sure this is the escape exit?"

"I'm not sure now."

Where exactly is this place? This question is meaningless, after all, no one can give a definite answer. This is like a place where countless unrelated scenes are stitched together. It is very likely that if you open a door, it will be like going from the grassland to the volcano, or like jumping from the port in the south of the continent to the far north. This is the situation now - this corridor, judging from the siege just now, is the location with the lowest shadow density, so it is not a bad idea to choose this as a breakthrough point. After all, no one can guarantee that Ashlee and Ella can rush out of those crowded passages.

So, there is no problem in choosing the direction that seems to have the most certainty of breakthrough, right?

"Ms. Ella, you should have made a judgment?"

"Ah, um..."

"No, I'm not blaming Miss Ella. After all, it was just a matter of pure luck."

"…Now I hope you can blame me."

"What should I say?"

"Please call me a slave who disregarded the safety of Lady Lunicia, a foolish and incompetent man who deserves death."

"No, it shouldn't be like this..."

Ella was obviously serious, but Ashlee looked like she was just trying to lighten the mood, and she seemed to enjoy it even though her audience was actually only Ella Hepper.

But the current situation doesn't seem that easy no matter how you look at it.

"Didn't the ones behind catch up?"

"Well, although I can only visually estimate it, it is indeed the case."

There were no shadows coming from behind, which meant that at least the current situation had not deteriorated to the point where one would die immediately, but it was still horrifying: from here, one could still see those things standing outside the door, shapeless, as if they did not exist, as if someone was standing there, but all that could be seen were shadows stretched by the light and dragged on the wall. They were motionless, standing, sitting, lying, crawling, using different postures, as if frozen in time, and only the people who were being chased just now knew that they had just stopped moving on their own.

In this strange silence, it seems like he is waiting for something.

What exactly is waiting for? There is only one thing we know, and it is definitely not something good to look forward to.

So, where is this place?

Go back to the original question and let your eyes follow the drift of light and shadow.

Different from the scene just now, it seemed to be connected to unknown places, silent and supernaturally broad, with many incredible corridors. What could be seen there were Nasaran-style architectural structures, a network inlaid with magic crystal carvings, flowing light, and those incredible panels suspended in the air - although there were not only complex and incomprehensible texts on them, but also weird bloody handprints, photos of incomprehensible eyeballs, and strange texts that made people feel cold just by looking at them.

The place we are in now looks like a magnificent mansion.

To be precise, it is the corridor of the mansion.

Neat, beautiful, spacious, the expensive Balder red pine has gold-plated edges and corners, the corridor is symmetrical on both sides, and there are no protrusions that violate this principle. The lamps hanging on the wall are shaped like branches carved from crystal, inlaid with red turquoise and flowing dragon crystals, which are not too prominent, but appear harmonious and beautiful.

"...Nasaran-era style?"

"It's close to the popular style in the central region. To be more precise, it's the aristocratic style that worships the 'Dragon Crystal Tree' and the symbol of the magic network."

"It's a little different from what we just had."

"Magicians who value pragmatism and nobles who are keen on formal beauty will always disagree on trivial matters."

"That's really boring."

The girls couldn't help but lower their voices.

Ella tightly grasped Lunisia's hand, and cold sweat flowed from her forehead, sliding down the contour of her cheek to her chin, and then dripping onto the ground. The movement that should not have been noticed by anyone was particularly clear in this corridor. It seemed to be quieter here than anywhere else they had passed before. There was no sound of wind, no sound of machinery, and if the two of them stopped, there would be no footsteps, and the sound of breathing would be suppressed to the minimum. It was as if something was sleeping, and if they were too loud, it would wake it up.

Obviously, this place is just like any other place before, it seems like there is nothing here.

There was no figure in sight, no extra sound in hearing, and this place seemed to be just an ordinary corridor with no idea where it would lead to.

"..."

I don’t know, I don’t know, it’s not clear, but there is only one thing that is very clear.

That is the lingering chill that wraps around your back.

That is a sign of danger.

"Want to move forward?"

"Do you want to retreat?"

“…There is no such choice.”

"That's right, Miss Ella."

If you retreat, you will inevitably face the waves of shadows that stop outside the door. Choosing to move forward and choosing to stop are actually the same options, that is, "gambling", entrusting your hopes to fate, the unknown, and a little bit of luck. There is no other way. From the moment you fall into a passive position, you should have foreseen this situation. There is no other option, only the joke called gambling. No matter what you think, you cannot freely choose the way to live or die.

That's why the girl named Ella Hepper was so anxious.

What she carries on her shoulders is a life that is far more important than herself.

Only the heartbeat was still clear - weak breathing, trembling fingertips, blood was constantly flowing out of the corners of her eyes, mouth and ears. I wanted to wipe it for her, but I didn't realize that I had to act so unguarded in this situation. If I were alone, I would always feel the excitement and excitement of adventure, the kind of thing mixed with danger, no matter how exhausted I was physically and mentally. But if I were to travel with a girl named Lunicia, I could only pray that no feeling other than exhaustion would approach me.

Regeneration ability? Immortality? Strong life?

Do not joke.

"Your breathing is disordered."

"Feel sorry."

"Why should I apologize to Ash?"

"..."

Here, it's even more uncomfortable than before.

Shadows that would kill or injure anyone who touched them? With a wide open field and numerous footholds, they could make full use of the surrounding environment to eliminate the opponent's advantages. In addition, as long as they understood the mechanism of action of those things that seemed to have no "mind" or "consciousness", they could find ways to deal with them. They would not be caught off guard, but at least they could deal with them - until they were overwhelmed by the endless number.

So what about here?

Just the right amount of warm lighting, magnificent decorations, spacious corridors, no traces of blood, dirt, or rust, and it looks like no one has ever fought here. In addition to wall lamps, there are large oil paintings hanging on the walls, of people who must be closely related to this place, wearing exquisite coats and cloaks, coats of arms buried in history, tassels on collars, shoulders and cuffs, medals and ribbons, luxurious dresses, jewelry, swords at the waist, and considering that the decoration style here is close to that of the central region of Nasaran, his celebrity identity is naturally evident.

It’s just that—they all have no faces.

Was it dug out of the painting?

It seemed a little different, as if there were no facial features there, only a bottomless hole with black juice flowing out.

Just looking at those paintings would make me feel extremely uncomfortable, with chills running down my spine.

pat, pat.

The shadow behind him remained motionless.