EP.294 A World Made of Gears - 1
The more powerful the hidden card, the more it must be concealed in your hand. This is especially true if it's a rare but impractical card. Spilled water cannot be gathered back, and exposed information cannot be hidden again. Hiding it as tightly as possible and aiming for the most crucial moment is the best approach.
Still, if you're not going to take it to the grave clasped tight, you have to use it someday.
Well, what am I hiding.
I am, in fact, the King of Humanity.
Of course, that doesn't mean I'm some great existence. This fact hasn't helped me at all throughout my entire life.
If one is the king of beasts, they should possess powerful strength worthy of representing each beast and reign above all individuals. That is the way of the world, the proper order of things.
Yet I have no power whatsoever.
I don't even have any means to prove I am a king.
No crown, no dragon robe, no throne. None of these were given to me.
A naked king left all alone in a foreign land—that's me. I'm not naked, but anyway.
"The King of Humanity...?"
Historia was half-believing, half-doubting. Actually, even half-believing is being generous—if Maximilian hadn't spoken so seriously, she would have dismissed it as nonsense.
I stepped forward to dispel Historia's doubts.
"That's right. I'm the King of Humanity. So from now on, call me 'Your Majesty' without fail, cater to my whims, and pay 50% of your earnings as tax."
"Be quiet. You're being noisy."
"Yes, sir."
See? Whether you're the King of Humanity or whatever, if no one acknowledges it, it's completely useless?
While I quietly shut my mouth, the insolent subject continued asking questions as she pleased.
"...I heard that the King of Humanity does not exist. Humans are the lords of all creation. They can choose their own king, making them dignified beings that rule the earth."
"Do you truly think so? That humans are dignified beings?"
A mechanical sneer settled on Maximilian's face.
"If even someone like you is deceived by such words, what about the other ignorant masses? No matter how much you want to turn away, the truth is clear. Humans are originally beasts, and the only thing better about them compared to other animals is that they're slightly stronger. Foolish humans believe they are special, but hope is always far from the truth."
"But..."
"But! Humans used bizarre methods to become special! With their own hands, by killing their king! They became 'special' beings who accomplished what even beasts would not do! Though I have absolutely no idea how they killed him!"
For the record, I don't know either. It happened before I was born.
Even a king cannot know things from before his lifetime.
"How can you prove that Huey is the King of Humanity?"
Exactly. If you're going to do this, announce it to the world with clear evidence. Why only operate secretly in the shadows? If you have the power, use it to elevate me as king.
To Historia's question, Maximilian answered with rising enthusiasm.
"I cannot!"
"But Director, you seem certain."
"Certain? Not at all! No one can be certain! Because they killed their king with their own hands, humans have had countless kings! In a world where even a beggar becomes a king if you crown him, how can you distinguish the King of Humanity!"
Unlike earlier when he was cautious with me, he's now proudly boasting to Historia. He must be the type who feels good showing off what he knows.
Not really a personality suited for running a secret organization.
"Even so, the King of Humanity is a king, the spokesperson for all humans! If the King of Humanity exists, he would surely be able to understand any human. No matter how twisted or deviated they are, if they are human, absolutely!"
Twisted and deviated humans. Hearing those words, Historia instantly thought of a certain person.
'Lankart. That bastard who saw everyone else as bugs was only favorable to Huey. Not just him. The Progenitor Tirkanjaka too—Huey always paid attention to her. Compared to what was shown, everyone was unusually favorable.'
Hey, if you're going to do that, how about thinking of yourself first? Why do you think you're normal?
While I kept my mouth shut and grumbled, Maximilian began spewing out stories he wasn't even asked about.
"If one is the King of Humanity, they would understand. That some parts of humans can be replaced with gears! Arms and legs, joints and muscles are nothing more than machines built with organic matter, and gears can fully replace them! Humans can improve together with gears...!"
Historia recalled her memory of fighting Maximilian.
Just earlier, Maximilian appeared riding a steel beetle. His entrance was so flashy that Historia spotted him long before he arrived.
Historia's body condition, after fighting against the angel, was not normal. Let alone the Gun of Mutual Destruction, she wasn't even sure if she could use Ki blasts. At a disadvantage in many ways, Historia planned to wage guerrilla warfare from a distance.
However, Maximilian didn't play along. Riding inside the beetle, he steadily approached the communications headquarters. Historia's bullets were powerful, but not enough to penetrate the steel beetle whose Level 5 Mithril gears meshed and turned. Unable to let him approach, Historia had no choice but to engage in close combat.
Facing the steel beetle alone, tearing at the gears with bare hands to barely create a gap, attacking the exposed Maximilian even as her body was torn by sawblades—
Maximilian's limbs moved very strangely. It was as if... a gear caught in machinery was turning....
"You mean like the Director's limbs?"
There was no intention behind that. She was simply stating a fact she had grasped through combat.
However, the most uncomfortable thing in the world is none other than the truth.
The smile disappeared from Maximilian's face. A clicking sound of gears shifting echoed in his head.
"...I've talked too much. Director Historia, I trust that you, who possess the qualifications, understand. That I have no intention of harming the King of Humanity."
However, Maximilian's mechanical speech and demeanor were not suitable for expressing emotion. Failing to notice his discomfort, Historia added one more word.
"What does the Director plan to do with Huey? You don't have other intentions, do... Aagh...!"
Water overflows always because of a single drop that falls just before the brim.
Offended, Maximilian flicked his finger. The gears moved heavily and pulled at Historia's limbs.
Among bows, there are types that use the power of a lever to pull the bowstave. Historia's body moved exactly like that bowstave. Every time the gears twisted her limbs, her waist bent further. A tearing scream leaked from Historia's mouth.
Maximilian showed no change in expression even as he twisted a human's limbs.
"Know your place, Director Historia. Your power over life and death lies with me. And here, now, you're questioning the person holding your lifeline? How can you be so foolish?"
"Aagh! Ugh...!"
"You have the qualifications to become my ally, but if you repeatedly disappoint me, I will reconsider my judgment. An ally who doesn't know their place is more dangerous than an enemy."
It's outright torture. Unable to watch, I approached and pulled hard on the gears, but as expected, it had no effect. Thinking about it again, I wonder if this kind of thing is really what a king is.
Even seeing me struggle, Maximilian didn't release the force.
"Explaining the circumstances to a subdued opponent was my pure goodwill. But you've betrayed that goodwill, Director. You understand, don't you?"
"Ah. Of course. I understand perfectly. Our Historia was too presumptuous, wasn't she?"
There was plenty of time. And many clues, too.
The steel beetle—this is an intricate mechanical device with hundreds of thousands of gears organically connected.
Power source? None. It can only move through Maximilian's authority that turns the gears, and it must be under his control to exert its maximum strength. To others, it's nothing but a pile of scrap metal, but to Maximilian, it's a weapon that can never be taken away.
Among them, here. A prison made of gears that crushes arms and legs with mechanical force amplification added to the authority.
Unlike the Heavenly Silkworm Silk that the regressor had bound, continuous force was being applied to the gears. Even if she transformed her body with ki, she couldn't escape. The moment she transformed, it would tighten that much more.
"...But escape magic is most dramatic when it seems impossible."
Saying so, I grabbed the gears around Historia's legs with both hands. Maximilian's eyes darkened.
'Trying to release the gears? Foolish. If you knew the structure of the steel beetle, you'd know that's a futile attempt. Or did you not understand?'
I understood. According to what I read, to release these gears with human strength, you'd have to disassemble the steel beetle piece by piece starting from its tail. In other words, impossible.
Knowing this better than anyone, Maximilian spoke while hiding his faint disappointment.
"Don't disappoint me too. The steel beetle cannot be moved by force."
"I said I understood."
If it could only be moved by force, it would be absolutely impossible. Moving the steel beetle is something only Maximilian can do.
"Are you protesting for me to stop? Then that's even more disappointing. If you think I'll change my mind because you throw a tantrum..."
Screech.
When a sound that should absolutely never be heard rang out, Maximilian closed his mouth. Unable to comprehend the current situation, he belatedly examined what was happening.
The gears are turning. Backward.
This wasn't accomplished by brute force. I don't have that kind of strength. No, even if Tir came, she couldn't resist the force this steel beetle exerts with pure brute strength. The mechanical device created by a mad genius over several years amplifies even the strength of a flicked finger thousands, tens of thousands of times.
There is only one way to move this. Maximilian's authority, the Principle among the Heaven and Earth Management....
A Unique Demon Dao that pretends to be human. Using that to turn the gears.
"...!"
Maximilian was horrified. Even his mechanical thinking couldn't keep up with the massive shock.
The gears that should be completely under his control and move according to his will. The steel beetle, his exclusive weapon, slips out of his control.
'Could it be...! The King of Humanity, even the Unique Demon Dao...!'
It took only a few seconds for him to regain his senses. That time was enough.
Historia's body slipped out as if bouncing free. When the force from the gears disappeared, her right leg and right arm easily came out. Then the rest was easy. Before I could even touch the gears on the other side, Historia roughly pulled herself out with sheer force.
Having instantly regained her freedom, Historia stumbled and landed on the ground. I waited for her to land, then spread both arms and shrugged my shoulders.
"Ta-da! Did you enjoy it? It's escape magic! Everyone, applause!"
As I shouted proudly, Maximilian raised both hands with his eyes wide open. Historia moved, thinking it was a prelude to an attack, but it wasn't an attack.
Maximilian laid one hand flat and began clapping with only his right hand. It was such enthusiastic applause that Historia, who had taken a defensive stance, felt dumbfounded.
It's been a while since I met an audience who played along so well.