Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

Chapter 31 Shadow [composed of twelve unknown characters]

"Winter is coming."

"I heard about the relationship with Hyperion - no, it's nothing, these words should not be said in front of you."

"Ahem... ahem... tsk."

"Animal, you've lived longer than I expected... much longer. It's been five months."

"You want to know what happened to the animals?"

"It is meaningless to emphasize that they are not animals. They cannot obtain citizenship rights."

"Don't worry. They are the kingdom's precious wealth and will not be wasted."

"I don't know how long you can live. It's rare for someone to be as stable as you are... I can't guarantee it. Although I don't need to guarantee you anything, there are very few cases like yours, so I can't tell you from experience."

"……Um……"

"Tomorrow, no, the next tour, you will move from the concentration camp to my house."

"The winters are getting colder these days."

"You are a precious specimen...it's okay for me to be willful for a while."

……

squeak------

The drawn-out sound echoed, reverberating in the vast and deadly spherical cavity.

It was like the sound of nails scratching on iron plates. Sharp, piercing, and chilling, especially since the sound did not come from a child's prank in the classroom - it came from inside the coffin, as if someone stretched out his hand, stiffly and rigidly scratching the inside of the coffin lid over and over again.

It is incomprehensible. The coffin lid was gradually pushed open seemingly without any hindrance. Why would the corpse, which could easily break free from the shackles, do such a meaningless thing? Or is it just instinct?

squeak------

"Well……!!"

"Luna, sir... cover your ears...!"

"This machine will take charge, Ella, prepare to fight."

"You don't need to tell me!"

Lunicia's face looked quite ugly, until Ashethelin covered her ears, she finally stopped trembling with both hands holding the sword - blood was overflowing from her ear canal, and Lunicia had no doubt that if she didn't hold the hilt of the sword as tightly as possible, she might not be able to resist trying to pierce her eardrum.

Not only her, Ella also used "Crime and Punishment" without hesitation to cut her palms and arms, letting the severe pain like thorns paralyze her nerves. As blood gushed out from the wounds and gathered on the hilt and the sword, as the girl's whispers echoing in her ears became clearer and clearer, Ella finally regained the initiative of her body without any help.

Before the battle even began, before they even saw the enemy, Lunicia and her group were almost immediately pulled to the point of being unable to fight, and cold sweat covered their foreheads and backs. The voice itself did not convey any will or thoughts, it was just instinctively scratching the coffin lid with nails. Even so, just hearing the sound made people feel as if their souls were leaving their bodies and their consciousness was falling apart. This was true for strong people of Lunicia and Ella's level. If the people present were ordinary people who were not as strong as them, they would probably dissolve into shadows on the spot.

"My head is getting... weird...!"

"Cheer up, Lady Luna, the enemy is coming!"

Anyone could see that the coffin should have had countless layers of restrictions that were absolutely impossible to break through, especially for Ella Heper. The magical aura shrouding it, even if only broken remnants were left, was enough to make people feel the pressure of a thorn in the back. It was definitely not something that could be described as "legendary rank". It was a true artifact that was difficult to create even with the national strength of the Kingdom of Nasaran. Since this was the power core of the entire ship, the effect of this artifact must be half in energy supply, and the other half, what else could it be except a seal?

But that seal is probably no stronger than a piece of paper for "that thing" trapped inside.

The coffin lid was opened, and the white metal inlaid with a large amount of pure Palaris dragon crystals slowly fell from midair, hitting the ground with a monotonous and loud "bang". Only then did Lunisia and others get a direct glimpse of what was inside the coffin. No, no, that was not the case. They could indeed see the scene inside the coffin lid, but that was meaningless. After all, what they could see was just a bottomless black, like a pool of black liquid poured into the coffin. Obviously, the volume could not be seen, there was no reflection, and the sight would only be absorbed indiscriminately, but they could feel the black plane squirming, which seemed to be just an illusion caused by excessive mental tension...

No, that's not an illusion.

Otherwise, what was that sound just now?

Wow————

As if the balance was overturned, countless hands stretched out from the lightless plane, like a forest of spears piercing the water, unconsciously waving, grasping, groping, and stretching in all directions. It was a gathering without self and without thoughts. It was not so much an army of the dead or a gathering of living souls as it was simply a part of "a certain existence" - precisely because of this, those countless arms froze in place after a brief struggle, as if being dragged by something and suddenly pulled under the dark water. There was no sound at all, but one seemed to be able to hear the sound of the endless churning.

Until finally, everything returned to silence, with only the last pair of arms slowly reaching out.

The pair of pitch-black hands that seemed to have no volume naturally rested on the edge of the coffin, supporting the body, and poked out from the lightless water surface. Then, like a drop of rain, they dripped from mid-air, silently splashing on the pure white ground with a magic circle painted on it, leaving a patch of pitch-black ink.

what is that?

No matter how you look at it, it's just a shadow.

Standing there, being pulled by countless pitch-black threads, ribbons, tubes and networks, it seemed that it had not gained complete freedom even after leaving the coffin. No matter how you looked at it, it was just an ordinary shadow, not much different from the "performer" type. No, if you must say, there was still some difference.

The "performer" type shadows basically maintain their postures in their "previous life" or before being swallowed - gender characteristics, height, limb width based on weight, hairstyle, ear shape, cheek contour, and even the clothes they wear. It seems that except for the tools and weapons they once held in their hands, everything about them is the same as in life. This is different from the "actor" type and makes them look closer to humans.

But what I saw was different.

It is impossible to tell the difference between male and female, young and old, tall, short, fat and thin, and the outline does not seem to have any special features.

Gender could not be determined from the shape of the fingers, pelvis and ankles, appearance could not be determined from the outline of the cheeks, and apart from the lines based on the most basic muscle structure, there were almost no extra protrusions on the body, no hair, not to mention the clothing that was most useful for determining identity - the shadow clearly had the characteristics of an intelligent species, an ordinary body, ordinary limbs, an ordinary head, no horns, no scales, no tail, none of the various aspects of life that transcended the intelligent species, seemingly without any characteristics, and yet this lack of characteristics made people feel creepy.

It's not anyone.

But on the other hand – it could be anyone.

It is fully capable of becoming anyone's "shadow" if it wishes.

This weird contrast made Lunicia and her group not know how to react for a moment. They had expected that they would encounter some kind of horrible and terrifying creature, and were prepared to deal with the immediate attack. However, the enemy in front of them was so "ordinary", "common" and "unfeatured", as if even the sound of it scratching the coffin lid was more oppressive than itself. Apart from the lingering weird feeling and the sense of danger that had been lingering since they entered the last area, as if their bodies were immersed in an icy sea, Lunicia could hardly feel anything from the other party.

Is that really the "final enemy"? Lunisia even subconsciously had this illusion.

We can talk about our feelings later. For Ella Hepper, the only thing she has to do now is to attack with all her might. The opponent did not take action immediately. This is of course a good opportunity that needs no further discussion. If she does not seize the opportunity, she will most likely regret it later.

Holding the sword in both hands, he whispered blasphemous and vicious curses, and the invisible curse wrapped around the "shadow" almost without any hindrance. This was not beyond Ella's expectations. This almost completely unilateral curse would not be affected by any factors, and there was no possibility of failure within her knowledge and cognition.

This process didn't even take a blink of an eye, and the next step followed immediately -

One, two.

In a moment, only two beats can be made, and each beat can only leave a spherical light spot scattered in the air beside him. But it doesn't matter, there is still a lot of time. The figure just fell and then tried to get up slowly. In this way, how many moments are there, and how many beats can be made?

"Fire all your ammunition, [Magic Energy Explosion]!"

Each spot of light represents a ray of pure energy, which is a rain of light composed of "magic energy explosion"!

The opponent is a "shadow" that has not moved yet, so there is absolutely no possibility of missing it. It will be fine as long as we can inject energy into it and force it to materialize - no matter what kind of existence it is or what kind of power it has, it still has the same essence as every previous shadow!

"The roar of Marduk continues to tremble!"

At the same time, the whitest light also condensed at the end of the giant cannon. The light was transmitted from the cannon body to the muzzle. The two heavy cannons gathered all the energy and then gushed out together towards the "shadow" that was standing unsteadily!

Rain of stars, stream of light, firepower from two directions poured down on the dark shadow. The continuous and powerful energy seemed to make the ground resonate with it, trembling slightly. The pure dragon crystal in the surrounding space also emitted a faint blue light, as if absorbing the excessive energy that overflowed and floated in the air. The output from the mechanical puppets and the cursed swordsman was enough to light up the entire Mulande in an instant.

"Finally this!"

Of course——all those before were just feints.

It would be inaccurate to describe it as a feint. What Ella and Ashethelin did was not only to attract the attention of the "shadow", distracting its gaze to both sides and ignoring the fact that the door in the middle was wide open, but also to infuse it with as much "energy" as possible in the shortest time. When the shadow is forced to change its state due to the fluctuation of the phase, in addition to being completely damaged by the real world, it will also fall into a state of slow movement for a while and need a certain amount of time to recover. Lunicia and her group used this to cut off countless shadows on the road.

This time too.

The holy warrior jumped high, raised the "Avenger" above his head, abandoned all possibilities of defense and dodging, and trusted wholeheartedly in the time bought by his partner. The power started from the waist, transmitted to the pectoralis major and trapezius muscles, passed through the structure of both arms, passed through the gaps between the fingertips, and was completely condensed on the blade. The pure white and flawless holy light that repels all evil spirits, in the name of "Supreme Slash", together with the flowing light representing "Guiding Divine Power: Sacred Weapon" and the orange-red flame burning on the blade, chopped down heavily on the "Shadow".

Let the sword body penetrate, let the hilt penetrate, until you reach the unhealed lesion, where the heart is!

The shadow was helpless, and was attacked head-on.

————!

It seemed as if I could hear someone's voice, echoing in my ears, on the other side of the wind pressure, wavering and difficult to hear clearly, but the voice was very familiar, so familiar that I felt a little nostalgic. It must be the voice I had communicated with many times.

--No……!

The exploding light and strong wind blew the sound away from my ears, and all I could see was the swaying flames and infinite light. The sound was still echoing in my ears. What a stern and persevering person he was.

What does she want to say?

——No! Run away! If we face something like that…!

“——Huh?”

——You will die! Lunicia!!!

Hit.

The feeling of the hit came, the feeling on the hilt would not lie, she was a little reserved on the "Holy Slash", after all, there was only one precious three-ring divine spell slot left, if possible, it would be better to be on the safe side, but in other aspects, Lunicia was sure that she had poured all her strength into it, without reservation, she placed all her hopes on this attack. The opponent was not ready yet, still in the "start-up", if she didn't seize this rare opportunity, and faced this completely unknown enemy head-on, no one knew what would happen, this strategy was not wrong, and the facts also proved that she had a good grasp of the timing.

However, the results are somewhat biased.

Attacks from both sides, two "Conqueror Marduk" guns at the maximum overheated level, a volley of countless "magic energy explosions", were grasped by the "Shadow"'s featureless hands, like two smooth balls of light. The energy was hot and violent, as if it would break through the cage at any time. In the Shadow's hands, it was constantly compressed and shrunk as the palms closed, until finally, it was grasped into a point invisible to the naked eye.

As for Lunicia's full-strength slash—

A frontal slash, from the shoulder to the chest, all were within the reach of the blade.

The only problem was that this attack, which was supposed to cut the enemy in half diagonally, just stayed on the surface it touched. It didn't go deep, couldn't go deep. Lunicia only knew that she "hit" something, but she didn't feel any reaction force from her hands. It felt like her hands and the sword stopped the moment they touched the surface.

Protection? Resistance? Incomprehensible tricks? Invisible barriers or walls?

No, neither.

In the next moment, Lunicia understood what was happening before her eyes - just like a drop of rain falling into the sea, even if the rain can splash tiny and undetectable ripples on the sea surface, for the sea itself, it is impossible to call it "affected by the rain". This is the case here.

The power generated by Lunesia's blade is just like the difference between a raindrop and the sea compared to the "mass" of the "shadow" she cuts.

Perhaps - perhaps an impact from other directions might cause the "Shadow" to shift in posture, such as moving its feet a little bit, or shaking its head a little bit. After all, if it didn't resist at all, the impact force would be reflected to some extent. But an attack like this from top to bottom, which was just and simple, was no different from a breeze blowing from above to the "Shadow".

It will not sway, nor should it sway.

"What……?"

It was a moment that was both short and long.

The siege carried out with the maximum firepower disappeared without a trace. The sharpness of the white blade equivalent to the "artifact" and the power of the holy knight alone could not make the "shadow" waver in the slightest.

Also, there are some things that are difficult to understand but are still understood at the first time.

For example, that "shadow" has had an entity from the very beginning.

Although she couldn't see the face, the facial features, or anything else on the face, Lunicia was sure that the shadow that was "looking" at her was smiling.

The corners of his mouth were exaggeratedly grinning, a smile full of malice.

For example, the fact that the "shadow" can defeat everything in front of it without any pressure.

Chapter 32: Flowing Shadow

"Animal. This is your room from now on."

"Animal... no roll call in the morning here... just keep it easy."

"Don't be so nervous, you beast. You won't be punished for making a mistake..."

"Animal, it's too much trouble to ask the servants to bring you food. Come over and eat together from tonight."

"...Alas...my wife came to me to protest yesterday. She said something like, 'Now that we've given it a name, it would be meaningless if we don't call it by its name'...forget what she just said."

"Animal... no... uh, ahem... Enel. Good morning. Greeting people is the most basic etiquette. Start learning from here."

"Enel, can you remember yesterday's lesson? There are different types of 'witches'. Those who can use 'quasi-magic abilities' can also improve their abilities by learning common sense about magic, but you don't look like one of them."

"Those who can't cast spells are not considered human. This is a principle that only applies to this country. It has no meaning to people from other countries. On the other hand, our country is the overlord of the eastern part of the continent. Even Zerhar cannot interfere here."

"Enel, do you want to learn how to cook?"

"Enel, let's not talk about the egg sauce and mashed potato sandwich, but your coffee level is... ahem... okay. Are you the 'witch of coffee'...? It's a pity that you can't learn magic with your level."

"Enel, spring is coming soon. The Great Forest of Lafkai... we're going to do our training there this year."

"Enel, magic is a profound art. Magic is a symbol of truth. We must respect magic. Ahem... Don't worry, I choked a little. Where were we just talking about?"

"Enel, what did you do just now? ...Interesting phenomenon. Try to perform it again and I will record it."

"Enel, the coast is only valuable in the summer... You can't be like those mediocre people who fail to discover the beauty of it. Eh? You can't swim? You must be kidding."

"Enel, you haven't lost control for a whole year. You can take the one around your neck off... I approve. Congratulations."

"Eniel, the nature of your ability has been almost ascertained. The ability to devour, suppress, and assimilate... The official code name is 'Abyss', which is really vulgar. Forget it... From now on, you will be 'Witch of the Abyss' Eniel. There will be no change in your treatment. Of course... It's okay if you want to leave. As an official witch recognized by the kingdom, you have obtained formal citizenship. Is that so...? I don't care."

"Enel."

“Enel…”

"Enel!"

"Enel."

"Enel."

"Enel."