Damn it.
Looks like I’m not dead.
*
I open my eyes.
A few seconds have passed, and there’s a gap in my memories. I re-evaluate the situation.
My brain, the finest computing device I own, has suffered irreparable damage. The auxiliary devices connected to my brain are also malfunctioning.
The part of Talo that is currently thinking is the personality of the auxiliary brain chip that backs up the main brain’s memories in real-time, so to speak, a fully realized self.
With the help of the Thunder Tower, I succeeded in almost perfect self-replication early on, but the computational ability of the brain chip lagged behind Talo’s original brain, prepared as a backup self in case of emergencies.
A powerful magic force grabs my departing soul. Necromancy ensues. The core of magic connected to my brain chip will be used for the relic chest.
The time from the brain’s fracture to the adhesion of the soul is just a couple of seconds. Defenses during this period are handled by automatically activated artifacts.
A physical barrier is quickly constructed right after a short-range teleport. The backup Talo checked the state of the body.
‘It seems I can deem the value above my neck as worthless.’
The finely tuned auxiliary devices, adjusted to match the brain’s frequencies, have lost their usefulness now that the brain itself is gone. I need to find another use for them.
Naturally, the spatial alchemy that relied on Talo’s own computational abilities also falls into ineffectiveness. Talo’s judgment is astute.
Before all spatial alchemy is released, I prepare the weapon most suitable for battle.
I dispersed my magic power across the barrier. The silver-tinged ground rises up. The very air is transmuted around Talo, transforming into a massive silver sphere.
From the sky and the earth, the transmuted silver flows toward Talo. A whirlwind of silver encircles Talo himself.
Talo waved his finger. With a rough motion, his dismantled brain disintegrated and three auxiliary brains fell into the storm of silver.
The powerful transmutation forced the tuning of the auxiliary brains. There were some discrepancies, but the synchronization with the brain chip was largely successful.
Arranged in a triangular layout centered around the chip, the auxiliary brains spread out. Talo drew a magic circle using the three auxiliary brains and the brain chip as anchors.
The silver current itself also acted as a sculpting tool. The accumulated iron was carved and shaped.
Sharp limbs, cut as if crafted from crystal. A physique gleaming with strange brilliance.
It was the Steel Giant.
*
This is why I hate the Ten Towers.
The towering giant blocked the sun and looked down at me. The dazzling backlight flowed across its silver body. What a blinding glare.
The giant took a step forward.
Simply moving caused the ground to scream. A vibration more than that of the clash between Keranos and the Silver Thread Worm.
“Would it hurt to die quietly?”
As soon as it cleaved my head in two, its body vanished far away. It sensed my location, which had just teleported, but the distance was too far for a mere few magic imprint drives to track.
I cushioned the shock of my fall using the magic imprint drive for “Gale,” but the distance grew. While running, that monster completed its magic.
Consequently, Talo withdrew the spatial alchemy and transformed into what looked like a robot several meters tall. Given the significantly lowered computational power necessary for casting magic, perhaps it was judged that complex spells like barriers would be a disadvantage.
But to gather all the silver and transform into a robot?
A magician pulling out a combination robot as a trump card? Even passing dogs would laugh.
What’s really funny is that it actually works.
From the back of Mecha-Talo, boosters deployed with a roaring sound. Rushing flames propelled Mecha-Talo’s right fist down onto Argyrion’s angel.
From behind, angels, usually at a disadvantage in limited vision, were aiming their magic at the top of my head. But then, at that moment.
I heard the static of synthetic machinery.
“Ha ha! Do you think the radar’s field of view is the same as a human’s?”
Talo thrust out his left hand with great vigor. It was just empty air.
But…
“Rocket Punch!”
It was definitely a synthetic sound of machinery, yet there was no hiding the delight it conveyed. The stretched left hand detached at the wrist and blasted towards the angels above, releasing jet streams.
I understand now why Argyrion avoided an all-out war with the Ten Towers despite having dozens of Silver Thread Worms.
In a situation where a poorly prepared elder had their head severed, such a performance was astonishing; what kind of weapon would be brought by the proper ‘Tower’?
Even if the Silver Iron Tower specializes in multi-target combat, isn’t this too much?
Kaboom!
The left hand shot by Talo smashed down with a few angels of Argyrion, burying them into the ground. The mangled remains of the angels were pitiful. Once in such a state, their regenerative abilities meant nothing.
‘If the angels here were in their right minds, they’d start trying to run away soon.’
If Argyrion escaped this place, there would finally be a method worth attempting. They should run as quickly as possible…
“Hey, dear research subject who just blew away my brain that’s still under warranty! Where are you?!”
I wished Argyrion was not in their right mind.
*
Talo concentrated on recalibrating the malfunctioning auxiliary brains.
I couldn’t compute the movements of this gigantic body alone, so I reused parts for quick fixes. But once I return to the Tower, I’ll have to request the Wood Tower to regenerate my brain—or that seems unlikely—and create dedicated parts properly.
There’s a gap of a few seconds between commands and execution. A magician’s ability allows them to correct that in real time, but right now, it’s not Talo’s original brain.
Still, the situation felt incredibly enjoyable. This formidable Silver Giant was soon to be my body.
The strength I possess cannot even compare to a mere fleshly body. I could crush mountains with a fingertip and bring down cities with a toe.
Enjoying the destructive might, he tried to gather the left arm that had fallen to the ground.
“Not possible to recover it.”
For now, I couldn’t retrieve the fired left arm. Just maintaining the body had its limits, and I couldn’t execute the complex maneuver of pulling back the launched body part and reassembly.
Any weapons embedded in the body can’t be regenerated or reused after one use.
Anyway, it wasn’t a form I could maintain for long. I’d have to strike decisively, remove any unnecessary parts, and return to the Tower.
“The most valuable loot to bring back to the Tower…”
Talo pondered about that ‘knight.’
The skill they showed, able to bypass the half-fighting barrier and slice through me easily. Were those the kinds of master fighting technique holders mentioned in ancient texts, the heads of knight families?
Definitely not a common fellow.
For now, they were a far more interesting research subject than Argyrion. The extra-dimensional magic contained in the angels’ silver skin allowed me to understand their structure to some extent through transmutation.
But how that knight bypassed the half-fighting barrier was still a mystery. What is clear is that they definitely must have disabled the barrier somehow; however, the seconds of memory from when my brain was destroyed weren’t backed up.
Researchers are excited by the unknown.
Talo activated the radar fitted throughout the giant’s body to its maximum. Just where could that knight be?
*
Where could they be? Climbing up your legs.
Thoughts flowed through Mecha-Talo’s magic circuits. A bizarre excitement and obsession creeps in.
The situation is better than when I was in midair. Back then, I had to lengthen the hovering time through desperate means using drives, but now, I have a wall to hold and climb.
I see four lights pulsing inside the giant. One is likely the heart. The other two are located at the shoulders and lower abdomen. I don’t have the firepower to break them all at once, but…
‘There’s another way.’
I checked the remaining power of the few magic imprint drives.
*
Talo felt the swirling magic at the joint of the giant’s knee. Turning his gaze there, he saw that very ‘knight.’ Clad in the colors of Argyrion, yet maintaining a human form unlike the angels.
The dark blade he held was familiar. The blade was lodged into the giant’s knee. The magic I felt must have originated from the high-frequency blade.
Talo dropped a few of the deadly weapons equipped in his body. It was a test shot to gauge their durability.
Click clack.
But something went wrong. The firing sequence malfunctioned.
The firing port wouldn’t open. The warhead detonated. Followed by an explosion.
The chain detonation was instantaneous. Explosives embedded near the thigh detonated simultaneously. The giant’s insides burst into flames.
The left thigh of Mecha-Talo glowed red and melted like boiling material. The giant swayed, about to topple over. It precariously maintained its balance, then finally trembled.
At the moment before it tipped, Talo made a judgment.
It was the knight’s doing.
If it was set to detonate before firing, then what if…
*
Orthes spat curses.
The cannon doors on Mecha Talo’s entire right leg, where he was hanging, swung wide open.
Target: himself.
Forget about damage from chain detonation; this was a long-distance explosion.
That would take some resolve.
As Orthes channeled his powers, a familiar voice brushed past his ears.
“What are you doing right now?”
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