Steelstone, chugging down the red potion, stared at his reformed right arm and me with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Wha… what the hell is this…?”
“I just regenerated it. In your case, it wasn’t too difficult since it hasn’t been long since it was cut off.”
“I’m well aware of the existence of regenerators who can regenerate severed limbs. What I’m asking is how I’m still alive.”
“Huh? What do you mean by-”
“This arm underwent physical severance and was sealed through abilities. You signed the contract, so you should remember? The confidentiality oath of Punk Technology.”
Steelstone explained that not only was his right arm physically severed, but it was also sealed through an ability, meaning if he tried to heal it, he would die due to the contract he had signed.
Yet here he was, alive and kicking, completely baffled about how this could be.
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but applaud Punk Technology’s wickedness.
“They seriously do that to people who are out of the game?”
“Of course. To them, I would have been the only one who could stop them.”
“That’s truly horrifying. As for the contract, I’ll just delete it. It’s unfair anyway.”
“… What do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t you know that an unfair contract is legally null and void?”
I had looked into the abilities used in the confidentiality contracts before. It wasn’t some ruthless ability that activated instantly upon breaking the contract like an absolute law or concept. It simply triggered when the person realized that they had broken it, leading to self-destruction of hormones or cells. So, ways to trick it were endless.
“So, you don’t need to worry about that. What matters now isn’t that, right?”
“… Right. What matters now isn’t that.”
Upon hearing that, Steelstone subtly turned his head towards the TV. It was still broadcasting the scenes of the Steel Titan massacring heroes and soldiers.
Now that everyone knew just how powerful that giant robot really was, heroes and villains alike were joining forces.
Of course, no villain helped stop it; they just agreed to a temporary truce until the situation was resolved. These villains weren’t concerned about others, but this time, they couldn’t ignore the situation.
“If the child goes astray, the parents must take responsibility.”
Steelstone was determined to stop the Steel Titan, prepared to do whatever it took. I looked at him and decided to ask the questions that had been gnawing at me.
“By the way, that robot wasn’t made purely from technology, was it?”
“Right. If it were just that, it wouldn’t be rampaging like this. You know the technology used to create the Steel Titan isn’t anything special.”
Super Robot. So, the technology used to create the Steel Titan was just ordinary steel alloys and mundane computers, plain old software.
Of course, considering the funds involved, it was the most impressive thing one could create theoretically, but that didn’t mean it could casually shrug off tank fire or fighter jet missiles.
The reason the Steel Titan had such performance was entirely down to Steelstone’s superpower.
“My superpower is the power of machine creation.”
The ability to create machines. Specifically, if he firmly believed that a machine would have a certain capability when made, it actually became that way.
Hearing about his ability specialized in engineering superpowers made me chuckle absurdly.
‘What a ridiculous ability. If someone like that existed on Earth…’
Humanity probably would have dominated the entire universe, even playing with space and time. Of course, there was a clear limitation to this. If Steelstone didn’t believe he could do it, it wouldn’t happen.
There’s a reason he didn’t just create a bomb capable of wiping out an entire city in one blow, opting instead to create a giant robot. In this age, the former was too hard to believe, while the latter wasn’t.
Despite being a power so difficult to utilize, I didn’t care. In fact, it made it even better. It meant that as long as there was belief, he could achieve absurd levels of performance.
“Let’s give it our all.”
“—Yeah.”
Steelstone’s eyes sparkled with determination. I was fully prepared to add fuel to the fire of his burning passion.
* * *
City W was under attack. More accurately, City W had become a complete ruin after being hit by the super robot Steel Titan. The horrors of war had etched themselves in the minds of not only City W but also heroes far away from the conflict.
Amidst the destruction, one hero was walking the streets to rescue people trapped in the fallen buildings and ruins.
…Shit.
“—Is anyone there?!”
While walking, the hero caught a faint voice and quickly rushed over, digging through the rubble. With strength closer to heavy machinery than a human’s, the hero swiftly removed debris and soon found a citizen whose limbs were all crushed.
Though the limbs were too wrecked to use, the person was still alive. Thank goodness. Even with limbs like that, doctors or healers could fix it up without a problem.
“P-person….”
“Don’t talk! You might get hurt… I’ll get you to the doctor right away—.”
Just as the hero lifted the citizen, a horrendous rumbling erupted from afar. It was a long, whale-like moan.
The sound emitted by the dreadful overlord plunged City W and even the heroes into despair. The hero was taken aback and swiftly took off running.
However, carrying the injured citizen made it impossible to sprint full speed, and before long, the hero was caught.
CRASH!
When a massive body nearly the size of dozens of meters descended, the hero lost their balance and tumbled over. The only comfort was that they had kept the injured citizen on their back until the end.
[Justice will be served.]
Fueled by rage, the hero bellowed at the Steel Titan. Evil? Where was the evil here? Wasn’t it just the injured citizen and the hero trying to save them?
If anything could be called evil, it was…
“YOU’RE THE EVIL ONE! YOU HAPPY TIN CAN!”
Whatever the hero shouted, the Steel Titan continued its business in silence. It simply raised a foot and lightly stepped down. There was no need to shoot bullets, beams, or missiles. That would just be a waste of energy.
Like squishing a bug, it trampled the hero and the citizen. Just as they both shut their eyes tight in fear and resigned to their fate—
Something came running from the distance and kicked the Steel Titan’s leg, rescuing the two.
“W-what…?”
“A-am I alive…?”
The two who had quickly moved from danger were gaping at the rabbit-eared beastman who had saved them. She smiled brightly and asked,
“Are you both okay? No injuries?”
“Y-yes, but who are you?”
“If you’re not hurt, I’ll be going now! I have to deal with that!”
Levitan said as she ran towards Galm, who was struggling to lift the Steel Titan’s foot. After receiving her help, Galm grumbled,
“Hmph- I didn’t need your help.”
“What are you saying? You were about to get crushed!”
“That wasn’t the case. Now step aside, that’s my prey.”
“You can’t do it alone, can you?”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
At Galm’s resolute words, Levitan stepped back as if to say ‘do as you wish,’ and took off to check for any stranded citizens.
Left alone, Galm looked up at the giant robot and chuckled. This was what he had felt earlier in City P—the magnificent aura that was now before him.
“—Truly something else. That scientist dude… what a gift he’s given me…”
Galm said, pulling out two genetic cores from his pocket. He recalled the scientist’s words about not eating more than one. He could get adverse effects if he consumed more than one.
But he didn’t care. In this moment, he thought it was okay to die if it meant fighting that thing.
“A man. Running away is the true death.”
GULP!
Galm swallowed the two genetic cores and roared as he felt an intense power bubbling from within him.
And in the next moment, he found himself standing before the Steel Titan.
“Nice to meet ya! Tin can!”
[—Strong life form detected.]
“First, instead of greetings—!”
One-Mile Punch.
Galm’s fist sent the Steel Titan flying. Literally, it looked like it would fly a mile from that punch, and soon after, the Steel Titan came to a halt, steam spewing from its body.
The robot’s eyes twinkled. It acknowledged Galm as an adversary. Immediately after, terrifying war weapons erupted from the Steel Titan’s body.
[Justice will be served.]
“BAHAHAHA!”
The pinnacle of the weaponry from City P and the beastman clashed in an epic showdown.
* * *
[Breaking News! The beastman suddenly appeared and began to duel with the giant robot…!]
“Looks like Galm already made it.”
Hearing Galm’s news on the broadcast, I hurried my work. The robot I had nearly finished was ready to emerge into the world as Steel Series No. 2.
I glanced at Steelstone as if asking for a name, and he nodded, ready to speak.
“Your name is….”
As the new robot was given a name, its eyes opened, signifying its awakening.
[—Steel Falcon. Deploying now.]
In the next moment, a massive flight trail swept across City E.
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