Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

The current road is not comparable to the long mountain road at that time. After all, this is just the interior of an airship, and there will be no roads spanning dozens or hundreds of kilometers.

However, the level of exhaustion is comparable.

The spatial anomaly made the actual distance traveled longer than expected. The winding, maze-like structure inside the airship greatly increased the degree of fatigue. The original structural diagram inside "Gleipnir" became unreliable. The newly integrated airship structure was not only confusing, but also dangerous due to disrepair.

Plus, there are those enemies.

An enemy that is like a shadow and is indeed called a "shadow".

It has no face and can be anyone or nobody.

The only thing that was certain was that they were not living things. Even if they were slimes, they would not show any indifference when being cut open. If a living being had its limbs cut off or its stomach ripped open, it would definitely wail in pain, but those creatures with human outlines did not even tremble.

They just changed their behavior patterns due to the deformation, as if being pulled out of the familiar phase and coming to a real world that did not belong to them had no effect on them. Perhaps it was true, as the "Opera House" said, that they were just a part of a grand existence and were not qualified to express pain independently.

The ordinary ones, called "actor" shadows, have mediocre abilities and act like ordinary humans. Once you find the right method, it is not difficult to deal with them. The only problem is their attack method. Once they touch the shadow, the corresponding body will lose control. If they are completely entangled in the shadow, they will be quickly assimilated.

But that's all.

It seems that no matter what identity or ability he had in his lifetime, whether he was a mage, warrior, priest or something else, the most he differed was in the habits and proficiency of his body movements. He could not use weapons or magic, and could never escape the category described by the word "easy to deal with".

After that, there are some troublesome guys.

The shadows called "performers" were first encountered by Lunicia and her group on the magnificent stage, in the symphony orchestra led by "her". They are different from "actors" in that they do not need to rely on the shadows produced by light. Even if they are illuminated by strong light, they can only weaken their outlines and restrict their movements to a certain extent. After that, they will return to a state as if nothing happened, and it is difficult to even hinder their movements. Moreover, they do not need to stick to the wall, as if they are not in the same phase as the "actors" type - of course, they are still the same, they are still "shadows", but free "shadows" that can exist anywhere.

Most importantly, they are much stronger than "actor" type shadows.

There are types that can stretch their bodies freely, types that can launch long-range attacks, types that can split into multiple types, particularly flexible types, alien types with multiple limbs, types that look like multiple shadows sewn together, monster types that look like countless shadows blended together... Even if they can be pulled into an unstable reality by forcibly focusing energy, they still have incomprehensible power. In a one-on-one situation, Lunicia, Ashetherin, and Ella can win after a fierce battle, a pair will inevitably be in a tough fight, and there is no chance of winning in a one-on-three situation, which is roughly equivalent to this level of strength.

Fortunately, the number of "Performers" encountered along the way was not too many. Including the three just killed, there were only twenty-seven in total - if this number rushed forward, it would be enough to destroy the Muland City Guard with an overwhelming advantage, without any suspense.

They have no concept of "stronghold defense", and it seems that most of them do not have a clear consciousness. In this way, "she" is a special existence, but that should not be because of strategic thinking or something like that. It is probably simply because of the strong obsession that she has shown a clear purpose to a certain extent, rather than consciously obstructing the actions of the "Opera House". Otherwise, there is no possibility of smooth progress. Lusa probably aimed at this point and proposed the decisive battle plan that is now being implemented.

Even so, they probably still have something like instinct.

When encountering an enemy, they will fight skillfully; when encountering prey, they will do everything they can to devour it. Similarly, if they encounter danger, they will also take measures to protect themselves.

Unfortunately, what Lunicia and her group are doing now is exactly the thing that can make them feel threatened.

So, we have to be quick.

If they didn’t hurry up, the torrent of “shadows” that had taken action to stop them would surge in from all sides of the ship, drowning them like a real tide, and then spit out remnants that had the same outlines, but no one knew who they were - those were faceless, faceless things that should be avoided by people.

“Haaaah…haaaah…keep going, move on.”

"Is it alright, Lady Luna?"

"It's okay, I just needed to catch my breath a little. It's okay, we can still keep going."

"Our suggestion is to fight quickly and decisively. It is estimated that the next batch of reinforcements will arrive from the eight o'clock direction in ten minutes at most. By then, we will be attacked from both sides."

“It’s rare to have something constructive to say.”

Heavy breathing, trembling arms, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead, all of which were evidence of fatigue from the continuous high-intensity battles. How many shadows had been torn apart, how many souls had been saved, even Lunicia herself couldn't count them. All she did was move forward, swing her sword, move forward, swing her sword, even the room for thinking was compressed to the minimum, even her fingertips were numb, and this numbness seemed to spread from her fingers to her palms, to her forearms, to her neck, to her brain, and to the deepest part of her soul.

Until I get completely used to that feeling, the feeling of constantly swinging the sword.

Unlike Ashatherine and Ella Hepper, Lunicia's face was even paler, as if she was seriously ill, and her lips seemed bloodless.

Because she's the only one who can hear it.

"Listen to the voice of everything."

Is it a curse or a blessing?

It was as if he wanted to forcibly pull down her hands, not allowing her to cover her ears, not allowing her to cover her eyes, forcing her to look, to listen, to accept everything that happened in this world, no matter if it was ugly or beautiful, no matter if it was humble or proud, no matter if it was kind or evil, no matter if it was gentle or cruel, no matter if it was the warm words of the living or the cold last words of the dead.

Or maybe it's the unconscious mumblings of the dead souls wandering in the world.

From the beginning to now, how much did I hear at once? The voices that lingered on this land, the voices that could not be dispelled for a long time, from the appearance of the "shadow" until now, until the end of the battle, I have to keep listening to those words that were never spoken in life, those words that are still being spoken after death, those words that no one can hear, only this "great" and pitiful saint can hear.

When did it start?

The gaze from behind was no longer as intense as before. It seemed that the person there had chosen not to stare at Lunicia's back anymore, but just held her hands silently.

The saints all have this ability to listen to the words of the gods. However, it is probably rare in the history of the Divine Court to use it like Lunicia does. After all, if there is no special situation, the saints will not take the initiative to leave the Divine Court. Their existence is a secret and they are not allowed to appear in the eyes of the world. When they finally choose to embark on the journey, it is often the time for them to step into death.

"Just go a little further and it will be over, right?"

"Yes, Lady Luna. I will go with you."

"Don't be happy too soon. The ruthless time overflows in useless hugs, and in the end, there will always be a grand round dance, so cheer up, Luna."

"Haha...does my face look bad?"

“Like fresh snow.”

"Because time is tight, I won't advise Lady Luna to rest here, but please take care of your body."

"Well, I will."

I couldn't help but glance at my palm.

The calluses on the palms under the gloves caused by swinging the sword were smoothed out, and then the skin was worn away and mixed with flesh and blood, and then quickly repaired, leaving only a damp and numb touch.

This is what a funeral feels like, Lunethia.

And then——he once again looked forward.

The door is so huge that it seems exaggerated, but it seems to have to be so. Rather than inlaying dragon crystals on metal for decoration, it is better to say that it is the other way around, using a whole piece of huge blue dragon crystal to carve into a door, and then inlaying pure white metal carvings on it. That is a coat of arms, ancient and complex. If you are not a scholar who specializes in history, it is probably difficult to tell the specific meaning of the coat of arms, but it looks similar to the flag of the Kingdom of Nasarlan, the crown worn on the two-way magic net tree, and the overlapping two staffs. If it is not a royal coat of arms, it is something of the same status.

It is naturally impossible to push open a door like this by brute force.

After exchanging glances with Ella and Ashetherin and nodding to each other, Lunicia took out something from her waist bag.

It was so thin that you could hardly feel its presence, but you could see the beautiful patterns on the transparent golden card, which had a strong sense of presence. It was a certification card carved and polished with Palaris Dragon Crystal, and it was so luxurious that it made people smack their lips.

I still remember how proud the Opera House was when she took this thing out, as if she was showing off, "Look, I have done such a great thing, feel free to boast, praise, and pay respect to me." For some reason, I can imagine the tone of her voice when she said this. Of course, this is also true. This certification card with the highest level of authority is the result of her hard work. There are a total of two cards found with the log. The one belonging to Captain Tumiti Otto was taken away by the Opera House and used for her operations. The remaining one naturally belongs to Lunicia and her group.

Now what is the situation with her, the "Opera House" - no, Lusa Ephayeret?

Insert the authentication card into the terminal and watch it completely swallow the card. Then a line of blue text appears in the air.

"What does this say, Ella?"

"'Welcome back'."

“Come back…?”

Who would consider a place like this as a place to belong? I don't understand.

Along with a slight sound coming from the door structure, the huge door panel made of dragon crystal showed its true appearance, as if it was a plane made up of countless blue crystal lattices of equal size, which was now folding and deforming, and slowly "opening" in a way that was very unfamiliar to Lunicia. Finally, the time that could be called leisurely or relaxing also came to an end.

This is the gateway to the end of the story - whether the outcome is good or bad.

Even so, the girls did not have the luxury of being left with time to stop. They had already roughly judged what was behind, the "Central Power Department", the beginning of everything, the source of terror and sorrow, the place where the "certain existence" mentioned by Lusha was located, and the only possible solution to everything that happened in this sea of ​​clouds.

So, what's inside?

Just like every part of the ship belonging to the ancient Kingdom of Nasaran, it was also bright, and even though no lights were visible, it still maintained sufficient brightness incredibly well.

When I stepped into it, for some reason, there was no sound under my feet.

Was it because of the special material of the floor? Or was it because of the way he walked that made no sound? No, it was none of those. It was simply because the space in front of him was too huge, so huge that it completely swallowed up the tiny sounds without causing any ripples, so that the source of the footsteps even forgot that the sound was supposed to exist.

This place is truly a holy place like in fantasy.

The huge circular plaza, no, that's not right, it should be said to be a spherical space. It didn't look like this originally, but it became what it is now after Lunicia and her group opened the door. The distance between the top and the bottom is the same as the distance between the left and the right, with an obsessive-compulsive aesthetic. No matter which side you look at, you can find the corresponding thing on the other side. The dragon crystals are surrounded by a ring, the dragon crystals are woven into a screen, and the dragon crystals are transformed into a network that connects the top, bottom, left and right. That is the concept of the Magic Web Tree, a symbol of the truth that runs through the world. There are no overly straightforward pipes or cables exposed in the field of vision. Maybe some new technology is used. Even if those things are not needed, they can still provide energy. However, it is obviously the "Central Power Department", but there are no things used to transport energy. It always makes people wonder if someone has abandoned the concept of economy and practicality for the so-called beauty.

This forced and inappropriate beauty was eventually broken.

"That thing" suspended in the middle of this circular space exudes an incompatible atmosphere. No matter how you construct the beauty of the structure, it will be broken because of the overly strong, too strong to be ignored sense of existence, because the thing itself is non-structural, something that is difficult for humans to understand - it is like a black dot suspended in mid-air, so heavy that the sight will be involuntarily attracted to it and difficult to break free.

What is that?

The brain receives signals from the retina and translates them into a form that the soul can understand, but in this process, it always feels full of unnaturalness, followed by instinctive resistance, which is the creation of an "unnatural feeling."

Just from the appearance, it is easy to understand - it is a white rectangle, like a box, divided into two parts, the bottom and the lid, with a cross carved from dragon crystal imprinted on it. The shape does not look like a decoration, more like some kind of incomprehensible seal. It seems that you can vaguely see complex patterns densely distributed on the pure white surface, which may be a magic circle. There are countless small and complex things, which are so complicated that you will feel dizzy and want to vomit just by trying to observe them carefully. The dragon crystal itself is azure blue, but the depth and concentration are beyond the ordinary range, which makes people wonder whether it is the highest level of Palaris dragon crystal, a gift directly condensed from the magic network.

Is that a box?

Perhaps you will have such an illusion at first glance, but as long as you look at it a few more times, you will deny your own answer without any basis, and then propose a new, correct, and only possibility.

That's the coffin.

That's the coffin.

It was a treasure called "Belvoir's Coffin" that was created at the same time as the "Eternal Satiety" plan was launched.

Click, click——

Since it is a coffin, that is to say, the judgment of "box" itself is just not accurate enough, and it cannot be directly called a mistake. After all, the so-called coffin is nothing more than a box used to hold the corpse.

Of course, the "Coffin of Belvoir", a sacred artifact and the most precious treasure of Nasaran, is no exception.

What was contained inside was, of course, a "corpse".

But now, the box containing the body was creaking.

It was as if something was pushing the coffin lid, trying to open it.

Interlude Log (Part 6)

[Unintelligible] year, month Mao, 33rd diary:

[The handwriting of this report is extremely neat and clear]

We are calling.

None of us could speak.

We are calling out.

None of us could speak.

We are devouring.

[The neat handwriting suddenly stops here]

No? Yes, yes. No. [scrawl, then neat] There is no food here. Our upper and lower jaws repeated the movement of opening and closing without any intention of stopping. Our hands and feet were now in an unknown position. The food was not in front of us. We were ordered to eat, but we could not find what to eat. But He did not stop. He just continued to order us to eat, eat, eat, eat, and eat. Stopping was not allowed, so we carried out this order until the next order came. What we did was to dig open our abdomens, take out our intestines and stomachs, put them in our mouths, chew them, and then swallow them. We didn't know where they went, they just disappeared, and there was no satisfaction. All we could feel was hunger and the desire to eat. The eyes and brains of others would not make people want to eat, but they could not control their actions. We just followed the orders to dig out and then eat. There was no food here, so we could only eat ourselves. Where did the limbs go? Where did the torso go? Where did the lungs go? Where did the soul go? Where did the consciousness go? This is not anywhere else. This is the stomach. This is the digestive cavity. This is a part of the digestive tract. We are not eaters. Are we a part of here, or are we food? My consciousness is becoming sticky and the things in front of my eyes are becoming turbid.

[The meaningless and neat narration lasted for thirty-one pages]

No? No. I can't see anything.

[The handwriting was sloppy, and then became neat]

The thirty-third of the month of Mao. One hundred and seventy-one hundred and fourty-three-five hundred and eighty-two seven hours have passed since we set out. This airship is an aerial fortress that will never fall, and as such it will continue to fly, eat, sail, soar, eat, sail, devour, fly, fly, eat, sail, soar, sail, assimilate, until the end. There is no end. There is only the conclusion that there is no end. Therefore, this ship will maintain the original flight plan until the end. There is no such concept. This ship is an eternal sailing that will not fall, stop, return, or land. It is a perfect existence that sails forever and continuously in safety. This ship will continue to perform its mission until, until, until the end. It denies the concept of no end and performs its mission. I'm so hungry. The mission includes gnawing, flying, assimilating, and military missions. Prey, prey, prey, prey, prey, swallow, gnawing, chewing, prey, prey, chewing, and continuing endlessly, forever and ever, continuing according to His will. But who He is, where He is, and what He is doing is unknown. The sound is fading, and the consciousness is fading.

[The meaningless and neat narration lasted for fifty-five pages]

No? Yes. The effect has diminished. Who has done what? What am I writing? I can’t see it, I don’t feel it, I seem to have been writing for a long time.

[The handwriting was sloppy, and then became neat]

Meaningless sounds, meaningless actions, there is no need to do them and no reason to say them. There is no value in existence and no possibility of existence. This is the grave of dreams, and this is also the spray field of reality. This is the rotten grapes and crystallized kidney tubules falling from the sky. This is the place where the spleen and stomach of walnuts and the stars die. Our voyage takes place in a place where there is nothing. We cannot hear His voice, so our actions have no meaning and no reason. We do not need to eat, we do not need to sleep, and there is no need or possibility to die. This is eternal existence, and becoming a part of Him after eternity is a necessity in physics and magic network engineering. There is no difference between royal family and nobles, old people and children, humans and livestock, men and women, young people and children, living people and corpses. This is turbid dirt, and this is a sea of ​​viscera.

[The meaningless and neat narration lasts for 117 pages]

No? No. Denial. I still remember who I am - who am I? I have forgotten my name - my self was originally vague, and now it is mixed with information that does not belong to me. I don't know who I am. I only know that you who see this record will destroy this place and bury it forever. This state cannot last for too long. My self is too thin. Now there is only this little left. I can't see it. I don't know what I am writing. I don't even have the feeling of holding a pen. Am I really writing? My self is being digested constantly, but it seems that He can't digest me completely, so there are a lot of residues left. Most of them are crazy, and only strange consciousness is left. So I can't provide you with more information.

[The handwriting was sloppy, and then became neat]

Today is the thirty-third.

There are only thirty-two days in a month.

Today is the thirty-third.

I am already dead.

I am still alive.

If you fall from here, you can reach paradise, which is the other side of the starry sky that has never been touched by mankind. There is only cold and lifeless rules. There are other things, but in a broad sense and on a larger scale, they do not exist because they will soon be destroyed and disappear, turning into residue, iron filings, corpses, feces and other things. Few can succeed and few can be completed. Most of them are destroyed halfway. No, no, no, no, all are destroyed, or go mad, or despair, or commit suicide. The revelation He has sent down proves it all. Now what is wriggling in the starry sky are things that we cannot understand. Does it really matter? Even if I go to see those things directly now, those great gods and those things, it doesn't matter, because now I don't even have a brain, I don't even have eyes, I don't even have nerves and blood vessels. I'm just an outline, a silhouette, a part of something else, it doesn't matter like this, the only things left are us, us, us, us.

[The meaningless and neat narrative lasts for two hundred and eight pages]

No? No, my memory is about to disappear, because it is the first batch of food, so it is digested so quickly. Even if it is stopped, there is nothing to do. I must tell you what I know at last. She, although I don't remember who she is, she must have done something so that we can leave information and some backdoors here to ensure that He can't devour everything. It doesn't matter if He knows this idea because He can't do anything. What did she do, there, in that, the core? Center? Energy? What did she do there. If there is a great magician of the academy or the resources of a floating city, we can definitely deal with Him with her help, but we don't have the luxury of doing so. If possible, try to use the things on this ship. He has eaten too much, but He can only eat living things. The rest will be left. Who is this? Whose masterpiece? As long as it is used reasonably, it will definitely be able to defeat Him. After all, although He is so strong that we can't understand, He is now very weak and restricted. In this case, you have a chance to do something, so.

[The handwriting was sloppy, and then became neat]

We are praying to [unintelligible text, consisting of twelve unknown characters, which cannot be recorded by any imaging device], and [those same twelve characters] have not responded, because He cannot respond [unintelligible]

[Note: This note is unsigned. It was found in what was believed to be the captain's room. The door was locked. After breaking it open, we found that the room was full of ink stains, which were judged to be traces left by the shadow explosion. When we found this note, the "actor" shadow sitting in front of the desk continued to write, and then dissolved without any reaction to our arrival, leaving only this note.]