Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"We can't fly because of the ban, so what about the things in this tower? For example, other golems..."

call----

"........."

when--!

"Are you okay, Lady Luna?"

"Let's just say we didn't hit it - there really is a flying golem?!"

"Small gargoyle—"

"This time it's not our responsibility."

"If you have time to talk nonsense, you might as well run away!"

……

I have completely forgotten how many floors I have climbed along this seemingly endless staircase. At first, I was thinking about whether I could choose the surrounding rooms as shelters, but later I completely gave up this unreliable idea and simply aimed at the "master bedroom" that might exist on the top floor.

At this point, Lunisia was completely sure that either the builder of this wizard tower was a psychopath, or the steps were just for show and no one would use them. Otherwise, she couldn't imagine what it would feel like for the guests to feel what was happening to her - even if she ignored the ping-pong sounds behind her. Anyway, after all this constant tossing, Lunisia began to doubt whether her legs still belonged to her.

Ashatherin looked as if nothing had happened, but as for Ella... she was almost out of breath and was now being carried by Lunicia along with the coffin. It was a miracle that such a team was not drowned by the vast "sea of ​​people" behind them.

That's right, the pursuers behind them were no longer just three golems. Now there were probably five or six golems, five or six gargoyles, and a number of furniture, tools, and mysterious props whose numbers were unknown. These things made of ice were following Lunicia and her group closely with a spirit of never giving up and perseverance, not giving them any chance to rest. They had to draw their weapons from time to time to parry while running, lest all their hard work would be in vain.

But it looks like it’s over now… probably.

Lunicia wasn't sure at all.

Rather, her mind was blank, so much so that she almost fell because she didn't realize she had reached the last step of the stairs. When she saw the door that almost suddenly appeared in front of her, although she had no idea what to do, she instinctively pounced on it, then grabbed the door handle and shook it in various ways and angles with all her strength. She didn't know whether she wanted to open the door or just take it down.

Thankfully, her intention was unsuccessful.

click-

When she used the most common method to open the door, which was to hold the doorknob and turn it, there was a slight sound of ice cubes colliding, and this huge and spacious door, which was made entirely of ice, opened as if it was defenseless, until it was wide enough for entry and exit.

boom--!

This sudden change obviously exceeded Lunicia's imagination, but it was natural. She didn't have any "imagination" at the moment. She was just in a nameless surprise. She lost her balance due to the loss of fulcrum, and rushed forward with the coffin behind her and Ella on her shoulders. With a series of loud noises, she plunged into the door panel. Ashlee couldn't help but look at her twice, and then floated in slowly.

But before the mechanical puppet tried to make up for the paladin's negligence and close the door, the ice sculpture army had already reached the door.

If this is the case, then there is no point in coming in? ——Aishelin thought so, and then "shaped" the outline of "Conqueror Marduk" in the palm of her hand.

Click—click—click.

"……Um……?"

But before he finished, he frowned slightly.

The golden sight drifted out the door, and the scene she saw was exactly the same as the sound she heard. Everything was silent in uniformity, everything broke free from the chaos that could not be controlled, and returned to a kind of transcendent tranquility. Golems, gargoyles, out-of-control kitchen utensils, sanitary ware, daily utensils, and many more nameless props, whether they were stepping forward, flying or floating before, all stopped at the last moment before Ashlee looked at them. It seemed that they were not defenders carved out of ice and endowed with the ability to move, but actors in a farce, frozen by the blizzard in the middle of the performance, and sank into the abyss under the frozen lake.

She couldn't help but try to stretch out a finger, and the flexible thing made of black iron and mechanism reached out from the crack of the door -

Click.

And then he immediately took it back at the sudden sound.

The mechanical puppet blinked its eyes, and it didn't seem to have any intention of continuing to test it. There was no need, and it probably shouldn't cause any more trouble for myself... and my fellow travelers.

Squeak——Ah————

And so, as if the man understood her thoughts and the consensus of the group, and as if he knew his duty, the ice-carved door slowly closed again amid the ancient and abrupt friction sound that echoed in the place.

It seemed as if nothing had happened, dividing this place into two poles of movement and stillness.

Chapter 30: The Little Secret in the Attic

boom--

The door was clearly made of ice, but when it was closed it made a sound like a wooden door. This strange thing really made people laugh, but no one present could laugh: two of them fell to the ground due to exhaustion, and the remaining one simply didn't laugh.

...If you want to know why they would rather be so exhausted than fight, it's not that they can't win. Even if there are that many pursuers, if they choose the right terrain to fight, it will definitely not be a problem for the trio. It's just that when they are not sure whether they can really reduce the number of enemies and whether it will cause other problems, it's better to run away directly than to go to great lengths to fight, which at least saves resources.

But no one expected that the destination would be so far away. In the end, with the sunk costs involved, there was no way to stop even if you wanted to.

"At least now, no one will bother us. Right, Luna?"

Lunicia just continued to lie on the floor, raised her hand and shook it, indicating that she should lie there for a while longer.

Well? Then Ella - Ella is of course not to mention, but her methods are still more diverse than Lunicia. Although she didn't even have the strength to raise her hand, she still reached out her hand in vain to touch the belt around her waist. Of course, she didn't touch anything, after all, the bottle of physical supplement hanging there had been drunk by her before.

"--All right?"

Ashlee spread her hands.

They still need a little more time - but Ashlee doesn't need it. She has a longer past than others, and a longer future than others. Perhaps this is why she seems to be particularly rich in the peculiar concept of "time", and she does not intend to waste it on simple waiting.

Da da da

The echo of her high heels lingered in the spacious room. She took steps and admired the exquisite interior "on behalf of" her two companions.

There are not too many structural details. What you can see when you push open the door is most of the things that should be here, simple and clear. The coat rack, candlesticks, huge coffee table, desks and chairs, and the books that are often read are neatly stacked. The huge planetarium hangs on the ceiling in the middle of the room, and the huge bed with curtains is located at the right end. Everything here is placed in an orderly manner, which shows the owner's strict personality.

There is no need for gems to decorate this place, and the most common thing is just the green ice that can be seen everywhere.

However, the scene here is somewhat different from what you see in a room like the kitchen. Whether it is the bookshelf, bed, coffee table or planetarium, they are not made of ice, but are made of ordinary materials, wood, metal, and glass lenses. Although they are probably not truly ordinary materials, they must have been processed in some way, otherwise they will only become shattered residues after a hundred years, but they still look like they are wrapped in ice crystals. This is probably not a mistake or an accident, but just a deliberate design.

It looked like the state of mind of the owner of this place: something unknown, abandoned, buried, beneath the ice and snow.

Sand-Sand-Sand-

Obviously, this place should have been treated with magic, so that even if no one has used it, it would not be stained by dust, but the broom was still sweeping in a methodical manner, just like the knives in the kitchen were still cutting vegetables, the pot was bubbling with food that no one wanted, the snow removal tools were tirelessly scraping away the white snow accumulated on the windows, the golems were patrolling, and the lights on the candlesticks were never extinguished.

Everything was set up when it was built, and it just ran as planned from the beginning. Even if this kind of thing didn't have any meaning, no one would really investigate or question why this deserted tower was added with some unnecessary traces of life, making it full of contradictions and somewhat creepy.

“That’s probably why.”

Looking at the room's door, at the innermost side of the wide prototype platform, the most important part of the room - at least the most important part for the original owner - the desk is located there. The wide curved desk has more books on it than on the floor and the coffee table, small decorations made of ice crystals, pen holders, ink bottles, feather pens, open books, and, of course, the one that no one can miss.

"Someone" lying on the table.

What are you talking about - Although Lunicia really wanted to ask this, she still couldn't even think of raising her head. She could only raise her arms in the same meaningless way as Ella did when she took out the potion. No one knew what she was gesturing. Of course, Ashlee didn't respond either. After all, she didn't see it at all. Even if she saw it, she probably couldn't understand what the meaning was.

"The corpse before was still traceable... just like a dead branch on the edge of a cliff, insignificant, and gave people a glimmer of false hope. What about you? What about you?"

Corpse? What corpse? Where is the corpse? Although Lunicia wanted to ask this question, she suddenly found that her head was pressed by the coffin and Ella, and she couldn't lift it up at all. She tried to raise her head suddenly, but it hit the iron plate with a thud. Then she could only wave her arms in panic. I guess she didn't even know what she was gesturing.

The only good news is that Ella looks much better than before even without taking the medicine, and seems to have recovered somewhat. Driven by the strong thought that "I shouldn't lie on the back of the savior", she is trying to climb down from the coffin with her hands and feet. Although this behavior will obviously only bring more pressure to Lunicia below, it seems that they should be able to climb up in a while. But this has nothing to do with Ashlee, she is still just doing things according to her own interests.

I never even considered looking back, because there was no need anyway.

What is in front of us is more important.

"...very strange. Or maybe not so strange. For a life form different from...the so-called 'mortals' in words and 'dust' in stories, immortality may be just as far away, but incorruption does not seem that difficult."

The corpse was wearing simple clothes made of silver, a white shawl with hot silver, silk threads made of ice, and a dark gray robe. This attire was not considered homely, but it was appropriate for the corpse. As for the corpse itself - as Ashatherine said, the heart had stopped beating, the brain had no activity, there was no heartbeat, no pulse, no blood flowing, the temperature was cold, and the limbs were stiff. Such a thing should be called a corpse from any angle, but it looked like it was sleeping.

There were no corpse spots, no corruption, no swelling, and no tissue loss. He seemed just an old man taking a nap. His wrinkles were not yet deep, and his hair and beard were not completely white. His appearance was rigid and not specially groomed. His beard and curly hair swayed slightly in the turbid light coming in from the window. The slight shaking of the cold air gave people the illusion that he was still alive, and the only thing that was so weak that it was almost non-existent was the disturbance of his breathing - it did not make people feel warm, but only terrified.

And if you turn to the front.

Since this is a corpse, its appearance as a dead body is not so "elegant".

No, it wasn't that the body was mutilated or damaged in any way, it was just simple: its eyes were open.

The dark red pupils looked the same as any other part of the body. They did not undergo the expected changes due to "death". They did not become turbid, nor did they dissolve into a pool of dark yellow liquid. They were just open, but lifeless, as if he was staring ahead, or as if he saw nothing. Nothing was reflected in his pupils.

This is a bit subtle again.

It seemed that it was not a living person taking a nap, nor a corpse, but an infinitely realistic puppet.

"Hmm? This is——"

The mechanical puppet was dismissive of it - it was certainly not a puppet. After all, apart from being a bit dull, it had nothing in common with her - but the thing under it attracted her attention.

In its hand was a quill, the ink from which had long since dried had stained its cuff, but just below it, on the open book, there was only a small circle of ink. No doubt it was trying to write something when it died, and what it wrote was in the book. Curious, wasn't it?

"Um--"

However, if you want to see the contents of the book, you must move the body...

"Uh, uh."

At this moment, a strange voice suddenly sounded from behind. Oh, no need to look back, it was Lunicia. It seemed that she had finally recovered her breath and was finally able to get up from the floor. To be honest, this was quite dangerous. If it weren't for Ashlee next to her, she probably wouldn't be so relaxed.

"A corpse? What is that—a corpse!"

"Good afternoon, Luna."

"Good afternoon, Ashe. No, no, now is not the time to talk about this! That is!"

"As you can see, this should be the body of the tower master."

"Is it really a corpse? But..."

Speaking hesitantly, Lunicia clenched her sword and slowly walked towards the desk. Her words undoubtedly sounded a bit uncertain. Was it because the corpse in her eyes did not fit the feeling of a corpse?

As for Ella - she had already put the sword back into the scabbard, and was now using the hilt as a crutch, staggering over. Of course, she hadn't had time to speak yet, after all, she was holding the kettle and gulping down the water. It seemed that this long journey would be very impressive for both of them, and it would take at least a minute before she had the chance to speak.

"…The corpse of a legend."

Lunisia couldn't help but whisper.

What was before him was the corpse of a legendary wizard.

Are you familiar with the existence of liches? The strongest of Alexis' clones once transformed himself into a powerful lich. Many powerful magicians will also choose to embark on this path, transforming themselves into cold and even evil undead beings, in order to transcend the shackles of death, hoping to exchange eternal time for infinite knowledge.

The body of a lich is not outstanding among individuals of the same level, and there are many undead that are far superior when magical enhancements are not taken into account. But even so, as proof of having escaped death and as a completely new form of existence, its strength is still generally higher than that of an ordinary archmagician - still without considering the effects of magic.

Why is there such a difference? Of course, it is the result of a series of rituals, magic and even drugs when embarking on the path of lich. On the other hand, if these processes are missing, the physical strength of the mage himself will appear more subtle.

Not all mages are like Ella Hepper, who is also a master of swordsmanship. Even so, compared to adventurers like Lunicia who are truly known for their physical fitness, her physique is still too fragile.

Lunicia did not touch the body rashly, but looked at it from different angles.

It looked like he was no different from a typical wizard's corpse - this kind of corpse was naturally different from that of an ordinary person. If the corpses of some wizards were not handled properly, they might even lead to pollution or disasters. But this corpse, apart from looking alive, seemed to be nothing special. There were no signs of any abnormalities caused by years of immersion in magic, and there was nothing noteworthy about its physique. It looked ordinary, but there was an unconcealable weirdness in it.

"A... great wizard? Phew... this is... really, rare."

"Although this doesn't look like a 'normal' death in any way, I can hardly say that it was an unnatural death."

"There are no external injuries... huh... it's hard to tell. There are no... protective equipment... on the body, and no signs of... huh... stimulation."

Generally speaking, in order to make up for their physical deficiencies, and most importantly, to guard against the risks of sneak attacks and assassinations and ensure that they do not miss the opportunity, many mages are surrounded by layers of magical auras and magical items to protect them, leaving no chance for those with bad intentions. The dead may have died because they were in the mage tower and did not maintain the protection they should do when going out, so it is impossible to determine the cause of their death by the destruction of their protection.

"It's also difficult to identify from here, at least not due to external injuries."

"Well…………"

Lunicia groaned.

A strange feeling of disharmony always lingered in her heart, but she couldn't express it. Those fragmented inspirations always seemed unable to be woven into a coherent stream. She looked around the room, trying to discover the source of this feeling of disharmony, until she saw something that didn't belong here, or to be more precise, she saw the corner of the coffin behind her.

Ah——yes, that's it.

The mummy we saw before, he accidentally broke into this place to seek refuge, and was stabbed by the golem because he triggered the alarm. His blood was all over the ground, and his body was gradually withering in the dry and cold corridor.

The corpse exuded a strong, lingering smell of death that was unique to corpses.

The coffins on their backs contain metal bodies sleeping inside. They were created and born. Their "death" may be nothing more than the breakage of tools in the eyes of many people, but in Lunicia's eyes, it also means the extinction of life.

A faint "atmosphere" emanated from the metal wreckage, a smell of death unique to corpses.

Paladins and priests, especially the clergy of the Goddess of Death and the Temple of Light, are particularly good at capturing this scent, which serves as a perception of disasters and threats, and as a clue for finding and hunting the undead. It is not a "smell" or "taste" in the physical sense, but a mysterious perception that helps them roam in tombs and ancient cities without being harmed.

However, but——

But when it came to the corpse in front of her, Lunicia felt nothing.

This is a corpse, a corpse with all life gone, leaving only deathly silence, but there is no "breath" on it that should belong to the dead.