And so, human Jeber ibn Heideka and the artificial human Siilambi became Harvesting Systems.
Siilambi’s life was hanging by a thread; her skin had turned blue. But since her hair was originally a light purple, it didn’t change all that much.
But Jeber had changed drastically.
The swelling that had been all over his face had vanished, and the spine that had been twisted to one side had straightened out properly.
There wasn’t a trace of the evil wizard image anymore—just a fairly handsome guy standing there with a dazed expression as he stared down at his hands.
Not only had his skin healed from all the chemicals it had been exposed to, but even the senses that had partially gone numb had all come back to life.
KWAH-AHNG!
But that was just for a moment. From far away, those who would end their story were approaching. Even though all wounds had healed and they had grown stronger overall, it would be difficult to stop those who had prepared everything to take down Jeber and now stormed in.
In truth, all his resistance up until now had been futile.
“Terrible…”
“That thing… it’s still alive…”
The people who entered the room looked at me. I had no limbs, metal needles stuck into my head and spine, and two long hoses piercing just below my ribcage.
If someone saw another person covered in contraptions like this and pinned to the ground, I’d probably feel sympathy too.
If it weren’t me, that is.
But since this is what I’m doing on purpose, I don’t deserve sympathy.
Anyway.
I intend to watch Jeber and Siilambi’s final moments.
They’ve given me so much information, after all—I can at least do this much for them, right?
Still, Jeber kept staring down at his hands. There was nothing unusual about them, even from his perspective.
Well, actually, his pupils weren’t focusing properly.
Is he lost in thought?
At that moment, Siilambi stepped forward protectively.
“Another puppet?”
“No. Judging by the magic power signature, it’s the same puppet we fought earlier. Her skin turning blue is strange, but it looks like her injuries are gone.”
From afar, a man and woman spoke.
I recognized the man’s voice.
It was the same one I heard through the birds.
The woman responding seemed to be a subordinate.
I saw her earlier—one of the wizards who used magic to shoot down the Chimera harvester.
Unlike the stereotypical image of wizards, she had a large machine strapped to her back and wore something helmet-like on her head, making her look more like a communications officer. Her staff had a bulbous light at the end, resembling a truncheon.
She looked more like a soldier than a wizard.
Even though she had that truncheon-like staff, most of the people around the presumed commander carried similar machines on their backs, roughly one out of every five.
Does this world not have radio communication yet? Is that really a communicator?
At that moment, Jeber’s memory lit up and revealed the nature of the device.
This tool analyzes magical properties and disrupts the flow of magic with matching attributes. Originally, it was so big it needed to be carried in a vehicle, but apparently, they managed to miniaturize it quite well recently.
As time passed, it seems this tool specifically suppresses certain abilities.
It was originally designed to counter a single individual, but the problem is that it becomes incredibly powerful when targeting artificial humans.
Artificial humans produced from the same raw material share identical magical properties, so once one is analyzed, its effects spread across the entire battlefield.
Though it’s expensive and inefficient against large groups of wizards, in this case, it works perfectly.
Since becoming a harvester doesn’t change one’s magical properties, Siilambi’s magic started weakening immediately.
Siilambi gritted her teeth.
But gritting her teeth won’t change the situation.
Gradually, they were being pushed back, and soon they’d suffer the same fate as before.
“The artificial human is fine! That must be the shaman who healed her! Take care of him…”
The man who appeared to be the commander pointed at me and shouted loudly. His voice trailed off at the end, probably pondering how to deal with me.
At least for now, these people are on the side of justice.
After all, the reason they attacked Jeber’s mansion was because of the inhumane crimes he committed.
And judging by their references to God, religion still holds significant influence here unlike in the Third World.
Socially speaking, Jeber has indeed committed many terrible acts.
Judging from Jeber’s memories, tens of thousands of people have fallen victim to him alone.
Ah, but not all of them were used as experimental subjects.
Most were closer to fuel. You need a lot of offerings when summoning gods or demons using Yasle’s method, right?
Human value has always been low in human society. When something is close, you tend to forget its worth.
Just like how the most valuable material in the universe isn’t gold but protein.
And just like how warmth feels comforting in the light.
So isn’t it true that the less ethical a society is, the more warmth I can gather like this?
But those who came as Jeber’s enemies are at least moral individuals.
That’s why they hesitated upon seeing me, clearly being exploited.
He observed the dazed Jeber and the struggling Siilambi, then decided what to do with me.
“We’re rescuing him.”
Yeah.
Such moral sensibilities.
Even if they regenerate once, without awakening any special powers, they can’t defeat the Royal Inspection Bureau.
The Bureau’s wizards pushed Siilambi and Jeber away from me.
Siilambi had no interest in protecting me, so she quickly moved to shield Jeber and distanced herself according to their wishes.
Both of them know I can only heal once.
But Jeber hasn’t snapped out of it yet.
I thought he might die like this, but suddenly, Jeber whipped his head around and glared at the Bureau members.
“Bow to me.”
And with that single sentence…
“KRAAAAH!”
“AHHHHHH!”
Mid-fight, all the attacks aimed at Siilambi disappeared, leaving the spells meant to counteract them to strike their own allies instead.
Everyone in front of me froze. Siilambi stopped her magic, confused by the sudden disappearance of attacks.
After briefly staying on guard, Siilambi turned to Jeber with a puzzled look.
Jeber smiled when their eyes met.
Then he said:
“Harm yourselves.”
Most of the opponents destroyed themselves.
Upon reflection, there were also mind-controlling harvesters in the Third World.
“But, what… what is this…”
“My body… won’t move…”
“How… do…”
However, just like before, some resisted.
The Bureau commander and a few others nearby.
“Assistant. Kill those who resist.”
“Yes.”
Without questioning Jeber’s sudden acquisition of psychic ability, Siilambi immediately killed anyone defying his orders.
The tables turned at the last second.
Psychic abilities often manifest when someone is in a situation where they can’t possibly win through effort alone.
Jeber was exactly in such a situation.
Though he was an excellent wizard, he wasn’t particularly powerful.
Even defeating gods and demons wasn’t due to direct combat but rather luring them into traps.
Jeber was a researcher, not a warrior.
Thus, when the Royal Inspection Bureau thoroughly prepared and stormed in, Jeber’s future was sealed.
So he gained this psychic ability to break free from that situation.
Thinking about it, harvesters with mind-control abilities tend to stay dazed for longer periods when they first activate their powers.
Until now, I assumed Jeber was just stunned because of the circumstances, but even in situations requiring immediate action, he remained dazed, suggesting there’s some sort of installation time.
Jeber went outside and subdued the Bureau members investigating his mansion.
Most ended up committing self-harm, but occasionally, he experimented with strange commands.
Strangling themselves, tearing open their abdomens, forcing them to eat their own intestines…
Despite not needing to, he issued cruel commands as if venting his anger.
Before long, Jeber had subdued everyone who invaded his mansion.
When the last human collapsed after smashing their head into the ground, Jeber gave an order to Siilambi, who had followed him the whole time.
“Assistant. Clean up the mansion with the remaining servants. And if there are any living humans left, lock them in bio-storage chambers.”
“Yes, understood. What does Master Jeber plan to do next?”
The assistant asked about Jeber’s schedule as usual, acting like a secretary.
Jeber, hearing this, crossed his arms and fell into thought as if it were routine.
After a while, he said:
“I’ll prepare for war. Since the king abandoned me, I no longer need him as my king. We need to expand production facilities and create combat puppets. After all, they’ve already provided us with the weaknesses and materials of humans, haven’t they?”
As he spoke, he looked down at the human lying at his feet.
“If diversity is necessary, let’s prepare for diversity.”
He decided to counter the method used against him.
He gathered surviving wizards, extracted their memories by inserting needles into their heads, tortured them, and turned them into puppets.
Then he bred them.
Like raising livestock, he improved the breeds and processed them into products.
And I returned to the machine to make more harvesters.
This time, it wasn’t limited to nine people per day—anyone could enter and rejuvenate. Those who gained special abilities were immediately dragged back to the mansion.
That way, the number of harvesters steadily increased.
Moreover, Jeber is preparing for war. Once the war begins, Jeber will use me to heal the wounded and increase his forces.
The Fourth World runs automatically—it’s great.
I’m rooting for you, Jeber. Keep it up!
