Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"It seems that we don't need to worry about energy here. The ship's energy supply system will continuously provide energy to the terminals we occupy. At least in terms of resources, we don't need to worry about supply issues. Ammunition, rations, and replacement parts can all be produced directly. The enemy doesn't seem to have any intention of actively attacking... Of course, it may just be that their search method is relatively primitive, or they can't use the ship's resources as flexibly as we do."

"That means you are absolutely safe here? But your condition looks..."

Lunicia hesitated to speak.

If this is true, even if these "Iron Leviathan" mechanical puppets cannot operate forever, they can at least last for a long time. As long as they do not step out of this absolutely safe position, there is no need to worry. Then before Lunicia and her party broke in here, they had no reason to actively engage in battle with the "enemy".

But their state told Lunicia that these mechanical puppets were not as obedient as she understood. They must have had conflicts with those shadows, and not just once or twice.

“We have our reasons, too.”

Although it looked unhappy, the "Opera House" still answered honestly.

"Also, according to the report sent back by the 'Scouts', this place is not completely safe either - those shadows are constantly shrinking their encirclement. Even if there are no problems for the time being, we can't hold out here forever."

"That's it..."

Lunicia looked distressed.

"But, what does this have to do with us being here?"

"Did it just happen to hit this airship? That's not a convincing explanation."

Ella also frowned.

Lusa half leaned against the one-way glass wall behind her, hugged her arms, and continued, "Coincidence? The area of ​​this 'Land of Hope' is at least one billion square kilometers. No matter how magnificent the scale of this airship is, it is nothing more than sand and dust flying aimlessly above the sky. Even so, we who have encountered it one after another, should we call this a coincidence?"

Lunicia's expression was not very good: "In other words...?"

"Unless this ship isn't just some ghost ship floating aimlessly—"

Lusa Ephayeret paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes.

"——Instead, it is consciously preying on the airship."

For a moment, neither Lunicia, Ella nor Ashatherine could give a response. There was complete silence all around, and only a few sounds could be heard coming from the other side of the glass.

"Is this kind of thing... possible...?"

"At least that's the conclusion at this stage."

"Airships, predation... something like that, it's really a bit..."

Lunicia was obviously having trouble digesting this information.

Ashlee didn't seem to be too shocked and continued to ask, "It has consciousness? Does that mean this airship also has something similar to a mind built in... No, there is no such possibility."

She gave her own guess, but immediately overturned it. After all, it didn't make sense. Although Ashlee was the so-called "mechanical puppet from a very old time" and had a "mind from a very old time", in fact, modern "mind" technology was an emerging technology that had just developed to maturity not long ago. It was for this reason that mechanical puppets that could think like humans and looked like living people were also quite novel in this world.

Because of this, if we exclude the special case of Ashetherin, the technology of "mind" would never have appeared in the era of the Nasaran Kingdom, when this airship was built. What's more, the Nasaran Kingdom is a country of magic and has almost no achievements in mechanical engineering.

"Animated objects? Artificial souls? ...That's impossible."

Ella also denied her own guess.

Animated objects often only act according to the orders set by the creator, and will not exhibit biological behaviors such as "eating". If they are ordered to "indiscriminately attack airships", the scope of the disaster is too small - at least the current airship is at most an urban legend, and has not developed into a disaster that attracts punishment. Artificial souls have been used on a small scale in things such as living armor, but more often they are used to make intelligent magic weapons. Cases of using them in large-scale things such as castles, fortresses, and airships are unheard of, at least in the southern region. And in most cases, magicians - or those who are unworthy of being called magicians - will still choose to directly use the souls of living people as materials. After all, artificial souls themselves are extremely advanced technology.

None of these fits the current situation.

"Does this airship show any signs of life?"

Lusa looked at Lunesia and replied, "It is better to say that something similar to life has invaded this airship, merged with it, and used it as its own body."

"So, predation?"

"It's not so much about preying on the airship as it is about preying on the passengers inside the airship."

"is that so……"

Lunicia looked a little headache - although she had experienced a lot of incredible things recently, the current situation was still somewhat beyond her expectations. Even Ella and Ashlee fell into deep thought, leaving only the "Opera House" to continue explaining what she had learned.

"The volume and mass of Gleipnir itself increased as it fed on prey. It was not embedded in the location where it was 'impacted', but was actually 'digested' and merged with the hull itself. This is why the different styles of areas inside the airship are randomly piled together, and why those spatial anomalies occur."

"Is this also the reason for the spatial anomaly?"

"...No, we can't just jump to conclusions like that."

Lusa looked a little annoyed and shook her head.

"It could be because the core power unit went berserk, or it could be because of something else... Let's put that aside for now. When an airship is eaten, it becomes part of it. A life form, or something similar to a life form, when eaten, becomes... something you've all seen."

"Shadow...?"

Ella's brows were almost twisted together, and it seemed that she had absolutely no good feelings towards these things that had dealt a heavy blow to Lunicia.

"Yeah... that's it... those shadows are the remnants left after being eaten."

The "Opera House" tightly grasped the cloth on his chest, and his expression became a little distorted.

"Those are just... shadows to confuse prey..."

She clenched her teeth tightly, as if she was enduring something.

Is she pathetic?

Perhaps that was true——but Lunicia had no intention of showing her any mercy.

It wasn't just because she didn't like looks and words of pity.

"No, Lusa. Maybe that's not the case."

"What did you say……?"

Those eyes, filled with pain and fatigue, dull and lifeless from torture, were now staring at the holy warrior in front of them.

If you are shocked by her aura, crushed by her coldness -- if you are overwhelmed by her despair, then accept her idea. There is nothing wrong with this. After all, what is the harm in thinking this way? If you only believe what you want to believe, unload the burden, and devote yourself to hatred and pain, everything will become easy.

This is what is called mercy.

If you want to show her mercy──just let her fall asleep.

"Even if they become like that, 'they' still have something called consciousness."

If you refuse to show mercy—

Then follow your inner thoughts and embrace them with kindness and tenderness.

Chapter 26: The Girls' Happiness

"Do you really...know what you're talking about?"

This time, the "Opera House" was much calmer than before.

Should I say she was calm, or was she so angry that she looked calm? She didn't rush forward like before, but took out a pistol from her waist, held it with both hands, and pointed the muzzle at Lunicia's head. Firearms were not difficult to deal with for trained professionals, but for adventurers of Lunicia's level, small-caliber firearms might not even be able to penetrate her physical defense at close range. Even so, even Lunicia shouldn't be so arrogant, thinking that the opponent would not be able to do anything, or that the large-caliber pistol in the opponent's hand could not cause her any harm.

But she still did nothing.

He did not take up a defensive stance, did not draw his sword, and did not even mobilize his own divine energy.

“You…!”

"alright."

Lunicia waved her hand, signaling Ella not to be nervous.

Ella Hepper certainly wouldn't joke about Lunitia's personal safety. Even though she suppressed her hostility, her hands were still on the hilt of the "Crime and Punishment" sword. She was confident that with her mobility, she could stop Lusa Efayeret before she opened fire.

As for Ashlee, she still had that calm expression on her face, as if she had known that things would turn out this way and that nothing unexpected would happen in the end.

"Well, I know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Really? And you can still make such a stupid face?"

"Don't curse..."

Lunicia sighed helplessly.

"Listen carefully, eh? Although you want to deceive yourself and tell yourself that those are just remnants without consciousness and self, so that you can cover your eyes and ears and pretend that nothing happened - is it really okay to do so?"

"What exactly do you want to say?"

"If you don't do this, you won't be able to do anything to your former subordinates and your sister, right?"

"...!!!"

"Opera House" is not as calm as she looks on the surface - she is a weapon born to kill. Even so, her hands holding the gun are trembling slightly. Although she tries her best to maintain a calm expression, the subtle details of her face are gradually collapsed by the turbulent waves in her mind.

"Your subordinates won't persuade you because of their authority, right?"

Ashlee's voice came from the side.

"It's not just because of the authority. They are all very sensible, so they can understand your feelings and know how to make you feel more relaxed. But unfortunately, Luna, the machine, and Ella, because they don't have much friendship with Rosa, they will say whatever they want."

"..."

"Lusa, tell me."

"what?"

"Have you ever heard 'their' words?"

"I've heard it, how could I not have——"

"No, I didn't mean 'Leah's' voice."

Lunicia sat back on the sofa. Even though the muzzle of the gun turned as she moved, she didn't care at all. She just continued, "'Liya's' voice can be completely understood as bait, right? In this case, there is a simple and useful excuse. So, Lusa, in addition to 'Liya' calling you, have you heard any other voices from 'them'?"

"……No."

Lusa admitted it honestly.

Not only her, Ella and Ashlee also had not heard any voice from the "shadows", the only exception was the gentle and lonely call from the "Arbitrator" on the stage. The other shadows, no matter what their appearance, power, or identity in life, now gave people the impression of "emptiness", no temperature, no mass, no form, no breath, and even no sense of existence, just black silhouettes printed in the field of vision, let alone hearing "words" from them.

"Before I passed out, I heard their voices." Lunicia paused and continued, "Noisy voices, confusing voices, voices that couldn't be focused on or distinguished from each other, like waves, one after another, unwilling to stop or cease. They were talking, Lusa, those shadows never stopped talking."

"..."

"Do you understand, Lusa? Bait should look like bait, wriggling and struggling, and emitting an attractive fragrance. Only in this way will the prey take the bait. If it has a scent but is unwilling to emit it, it is not a bait, or at least it is not a qualified bait."

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Because I am the Holy Maiden of the Glorious Court."

Lunicia tilted her head and smiled.

"And you're a paladin. May God be with you."

"...Yeah, I almost forgot about it."

Lusa put the pistol back into the holster as if nothing had happened.

"That's really stupid."

"Hey?"

"I already knew about that kind of thing."

"Y-really?"

"Yeah, so now I have to ask you, a latecomer, to remind me, which makes me look even more stupid." Lusa spread her hands. "Originally, the mortality rate after being preyed upon by this ship is 100%. There is no 'living' thing here except us. Ah, it should be said that only you are alive. Those shadows will not react to anything other than us. Attacks and hostile behaviors are just the instincts of being part of 'that thing'. No matter how strong their will and distinct self are, they will dissolve after a long period of digestion."

“…Even so, they are still mumbling.”

"Because something went wrong." Ella said, "Other people's selves should not be preserved so clearly. The current state can't be called 'completely digested' at all. It's like only half digested."

"Is that why you are like that? Even though you are unaware of the existence of the outside world, you are still talking to yourself?"

"Like fragments of the soul, shining brightly under the moonlight."

Ashtherin glanced at Lusa.

"Ms. Leah's ego is much more distinct than other mass-produced models of the 'Iron Leviathan'. In addition, she was not devoured for a long time, so it can be expressed so clearly."

"That's it." Lusa squeezed her arm tightly. "She's still struggling there. As her sister, I'm actually so depressed. It's really outrageous..."

"I'm sorry. But what should we do next? Knowing this doesn't seem to be of much help to us..."

"Do you want to escape with your companions, Lunicia Agris?"

Lusa suddenly raised her head and stared at Lunesia's face.

"Hey?"

"Don't just use the 'ah' sound to get away with it. Speak out loudly, unbridled, heroically, and tell me without the slightest disguise whether you want to leave this hell that is more irritating and unbearable than the icy bottom of the Styx. Do you want to cut through the cloud of bats and shatter the wall of blood and pus? Tell me!"

“Ah, um…”