173. The City of Mechanical Devices, Hazart Ashin
*
– Behind, they’re coming again!
‘I know!’
Fernandez swung his greatsword in a circular motion, slashing at the flying steel with the blade. With a loud crunch, the mechanical device shattered, and a heavy weight pressed down on his forearm. The bodies of these steel-constructed creatures were incredibly heavy, and the weight of the flying objects translated directly into impact force.
“We can’t keep fighting like this, can we?”
Fernandez narrowed his eyes and grumbled. Ziiing, wiiing. Each of the steel monsters emitted ominous mechanical sounds as they soared into the air.
Metal wings coated with levitation magic and instant weight reduction, bodies intricately woven with gears and dark composite panels, hot circuits flowing with lava, and exhaust vents occasionally hissing to cool their heated frames.
These mechanical marvels, worthy of being called the pinnacle of magic engineering, looked like winged women from a distance. They held twisted spears covered in rune glyphs, glaring at Fernandez from above.
“It wasn’t this hard in my past life.”
– The situation was different back then.
Faijashi clicked his tongue. The magic engineering golems of the Steelmaru Seal were slow and cumbersome. No matter how advanced the engineering, since it was fundamentally tied to magic, Faijashi could easily turn the golems on or off back then.
They moved leisurely, armed with projectile weapons designed to destroy intruders. It was an easy task to outmaneuver them and disrupt their magic circuits before they could react.
– Screeeech!
One of the floating golems swooped down like a hawk. Fernandez angled his greatsword, preparing for the assault. The golem elegantly spun its spear halfway and thrust it toward his head.
– Crunch!
Sparks flew. Fernandez displayed near-miraculous skill, deflecting the spear’s blade with the tip of his greatsword, redirecting the attack. As the golem’s balance wavered slightly, Fernandez’s gloomy blue eyes gleamed.
– Slice.
The sword of King Dane does not break under impact. How comforting that was, Fernandez thought as he cleaved the sturdy, heavy golem in half with a single strike, exhaling a sigh of relief. An ordinary greatsword wouldn’t have survived the third attack.
– Sssssss.
Scorching lava scattered in all directions. Quickly moving out of the lava’s range, the next golems circled the air once before diving down to strike.
“One by one!”
– Crunch!
“Come at me!”
– Crunch!
The wreckage of golems piled up around him. It had been a grueling day. Fernandez sighed, his tired eyes scanning the surroundings.
This situation had started three hours ago.
*
Crossing the corridor, passing through the gate, and descending the stairs for a while. When Fernandez finally stepped onto the ground, where the heat of the lava scorched his skin, he was walking while visualizing the city’s bird’s-eye view he had seen from above.
‘There are four main passages leading to the central node.’
– Among them, one is a life gate, and three are death gates.
‘And the life and death gates rotate clockwise.’
The roads and buildings of this magically activated city had to be seen as individual magical artifacts. It was a precise formation, meticulously arranged like pawns on a chessboard.
By now, it was clear that this was no mere sealing formation. It was a barrier. A barrier obsessively designed to block entry. In other words, this seemingly ordinary street could turn into a corner of hell at any moment.
– Clink, clank.
The sound of chains rattling could be heard. Once every ten minutes, and then once every seven and two minutes. Chains and hammering echoed from three different directions, each with its own rhythm.
“Hoo…”
A marker appeared in Fernandez’s mental map of the city. A rune forge that activated the magic circuit once every ten minutes.
– Clank, clank, clank.
Soon, another rune forge hammered once every seven minutes. Though the rhythms were entirely different, soon enough.
‘Take a step back. Turn to the third corner.’
Fernandez quickly moved. Simultaneously—
– Clank, clink.
With the sound of chains rattling, magic erupted from the rune forge that made noise once every two minutes. Lava swept through the spot where he had just been standing. The intense heat scorched Fernandez’s face.
As the lava’s trajectory shifted, the massive vortex flowing through the city twisted. Fernandez adjusted his mental map in real-time and moved forward. The road that had been a life gate moments ago was now a death gate.
Again, to the next corner, the next alley. Fernandez walked with his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was an incredibly complex and precise barrier.
*
At the heart of the barrier, as he approached the third central node according to his pattern, an anomaly occurred.
– Screeeech…
From the rune forge at the city’s center, a loud noise echoed. It was a completely different pattern from before, causing Fernandez to stop and frown.
‘Did we step on something wrong?’
– There must have been another proximity-detection barrier. They hid it well.
Fernandez paused in what he assumed was the city area, likely a market alley. Screech, clatter, the noisy friction echoed throughout the city.
And soon, a human voice suddenly spoke.
[Warning. Unauthorized access detected.]
The words were spoken in stiff, segmented phrases, making it difficult for Fernandez to recognize it as ancient northern language.
[Warning. Unauthorized access detected.]
[Suppression strike team authorized to engage.]
‘That doesn’t sound very friendly.’
Fernandez chuckled as he heard the sound of wings flapping in the distance. What could they be protecting so fiercely, even creating guard golems? And their appearance was downright grotesque.
‘Female-type golems.’
Until now, the dwarf magic engineering golems he had seen were massive mobile turrets armed with giant shields, cannons, or other projectile weapons. But the golems in this dungeon were elegantly moving, aesthetically crafted figures.
Grotesque, indeed. Fernandez smirked as he observed the complexly turning gears on their exteriors. Lava seemed to boil inside them, with steam rising from their backs and red lights flickering in their eyes.
The lava, filled with magic, glowed through the gaps in their mechanical bodies, making them look like steel dolls imbued with hellfire. Their appearance was far from friendly.
– Ssshh.
“Let’s see if they’re as capable as they look.”
Fernandez laughed, angling his greatsword with his right hand.
*
Female-type aerial dwarf magic engineering golems… Fernandez, as a mage, couldn’t accept such a bizarrely named creation, so after crushing the seventh golem, he began pondering what to call them.
Now, he was approaching the first central node. That meant he was close to the rune forge emitting magic and the center of the barrier, where the density of magical manifestations was highest.
Simply put, given the barrier’s nature of operating with lava infused with magic, the barrier’s effects would start strongest at the forge where the lava erupted. Because of this, Fernandez had to keep moving, never stopping, as he searched for the path of life.
– Screeeech!
[Warning. Unauthorized entity approaching. Warning. Unauthorized entity approaching.]
The segmented warning tones echoed…
He burst out of the room. And that sound soon meant that winged monsters were pouring out again. Now, Fernandez had reached a point where he couldn’t rest his left arm.
-These guys, I get what they are.
‘Speak.’
It was in the middle of a fierce battle that Faijashi, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke. At that moment, Fernandez was swinging his greatsword, smashing a golem to pieces. At first, they came out one or two at a time, but now they were swarming in groups, and it was getting dangerous.
-They’re female-type units.
‘…Are you kidding me?’
-No. Female-type units. These guys are from the Northern Temple of the Gods culture. Golems generally take on the most threatening form the creator can imagine. What would it take to feel threatened by female-type units?
‘Misogyny?’
-No. Mythological beings.
Only then did Fernandez narrow his eyes and observe the charging golem. Its menacing red eyes flared as it flew through the air with grace. Their movement wasn’t that of winged creatures.
You can’t lift that heavy body with wings just two or three meters long. Lightweight spells and levitation spells? If that were possible, why would they need wings in the first place?
The wings were a symbol. In mythology, a female warrior with wings…
‘Valkyries.’
Fernandez laughed. It’s been a while since I faced an angel.
As he swung his greatsword, one golem was sent crashing into a wall, collapsing it and embedding itself into the ground. A heavy thud followed. A steel arm protruded from the debris, trembling.
-Look over there.
Where Faijashi pointed, beyond the collapsed wall, was the Rune Forge. In the midst of the battle, they had unknowingly reached the center of the seal. Rune Glyphs densely embedded in steel gears clattered noisily.
A complex mechanical device, difficult to understand, clanked and turned endlessly. Occasionally, steel structures connected to the gears would spring, shock the springs, and a giant hammer would strike down. A glowing casting emerged from the anvil below.
This was a kind of perpetual motion machine. If certain triggers activated this device, lava would flow, igniting the Rune Forge, which would then operate using the heat of the lava and the steam rising from it.
Such complex functions weren’t necessary just to seal someone. This was excessive technological waste. Fernandez stood in a relatively safe spot, observing the mechanical device beyond the broken wall.
“This isn’t for maintaining a seal or barrier.”
He had seen a similar mechanism before. Long ago, in his previous life. Fernandez stroked his chin, lost in thought.
It resembled the sealing structure of the Steel Seal, but it was a completely different mechanism. Rather, it was similar to the dwarf dungeon he had first set foot in…
“A door.”
Information flashed like lightning. If magic flowed and fueled it, the fundamental design philosophy would be based on magic, and highly developed magic would take on a common form across cultures.
The different appearance made it hard to associate at first. Fernandez realized as he watched the Rune Forge operate. This is a door.
“A door to another dimension.”
The words slipped out unconsciously. The massive structure, sealing something or creating a barrier here, was merely secondary.
The meticulous defensive barrier suggested a powerful external enemy. In other words, the dwarves must have faced a threat so great that they had to consider the destruction of their city.
But no protection, no defense can last forever. Hence, the door. They were attempting to open a gateway leading somewhere from their city.
“A door to the fate of their race…”
You can’t pour lava in the middle of a city under normal circumstances. So this had to be a kind of last bastion.
[Correct.]
Fernandez turned his head toward the source of the voice. Beyond the complex machinery of the Rune Forge and the glowing lava, deep inside. Steam rose hazily, obscuring the area. Structurally, that inner part would be the center of the city.
From somewhere within, a whisper came.
[I saw you fight. Impressive.]
“Who are you?”
[The mother of the children you killed.]
The moment he heard that, Fernandez reflexively gripped the hilt of his sword. The only ones he had ‘killed’ in the north were corrupted northerners or demons.
And if the mother of demons, the Demidrako…
“Sadarkelisa…!”
In response to his words, a suppressed laugh came from beyond the mist. Heh, heh heh. Amidst the stench of sulfur and the metallic smell, it was a clear, beautiful laugh that didn’t belong.
-Chances?
‘Right now… none.’
There were various means prepared to face Sadarkelisa, but his original goal wasn’t to confront Sadarkelisa herself, but to cut off Erik’s limbs and eradicate the northern threat.
Therefore, he had no chance now. Even if she were only half as strong as Mumto.
[Ahaha, what an amusing child! Little one, do I look like a lizard to you? Now, look at me.]
-Whoosh…
The steam cleared with a hot gust of wind. Through the gears and steel pipes, a cool breeze inexplicably brushed his cheek.
Between the heat and steel, a flower bloomed. In a gap just large enough for a palm, greenery, flowers, and grass grew.
It was a bizarre sight. In the middle of a steel city without a ray of sunlight, in the heart of this violent city boiling with lava, a small garden spread out, exuding a sacred aura, more like a sanctuary than a seal or magical center.
And in the midst of it, a woman knelt, wrapped in shining golden chains, looking at him.
The woman smiled softly. It was a smile he knew.
[Now, what do I look like to you?]
-Thump, thump, thump.
His heart raced. He knew what he was seeing was false, the timing, place, tone, and atmosphere were all too different for it to be the same person.
Yet, that face and that smile still gripped and tore at Fernandez’s heart. Fernandez lowered his head slightly, dizzy from the rush of blood.
[Why so shy? Ashamed to look at me?]
“Witch.”
Blue eyes flickered through the black hair. Fernandez glared at her, grinding his teeth.
“I will definitely kill you.”
-Swish.
The sound of a blade being drawn was chilling. At his words, the woman stammered in panic.
[Wait, wait a moment. You, you’re such an impatient child. That can’t be! My appearance always, always becomes the person the man loves most! How can you turn your blade on me? Have you never loved anyone?]
He had. The problem was, the emotions her appearance evoked were closer to regret and remorse than love and affection. And that was Fernandez’s sore spot.
Aria, Fernandez couldn’t tear his eyes away from her face. From the moment he broke free of Mumto’s illusion, he had practically given up on the possibility of meeting Aria in this life.
If the world became peaceful, Aria wouldn’t need him. That was a kind of farewell, and at the same time, atonement. How could he explain the pain of sealing those emotions? Fernandez bit his lip.
Even now, he wanted to touch, caress, and embrace that woman. His heart pounded madly. And that emotion was being replaced entirely by hatred. How dare, how dare.
Her memory should have been the most sacred relic he carried for life. And now, this woman had trampled into his world.
[Wait! I, I’ll change my appearance. Wait, stop, stop! Oh, this!]
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