EP.298 A World Made of Gears - 5
Blowing out a deep puff of smoke, Historia spoke with a momentarily hazy expression.
"This is gooood... My arm doesn't hurt, and my head feels clear. It feels like my energy is filling up again..."
"Meow-. So gooood-."
As if responding to her, Nabi's satisfied purring was heard. Maximilien frowned upon discovering Nabi rolling around on a pile of magick herbs in the narrow space behind.
How to nullify the drug. I administered a preventative in advance. It was a success.
Though it still bothers me that Historia smoked quite a lot. How much did she smoke for her eyes to lose focus?
"That's an illusion. Your arm doesn't hurt because you just can't feel the pain, and your head feels clear simply because you're addicted to magick herbs."
Despite my pointing it out, Historia smirked and waved the magick herb.
"I mean it. It's way better than when I first smoked it. I wonder why?"
"Magick herb is just the Little Match Girl's match that reminds you of your best moments. If you're happy when you light it, it means your current state is that miserable, so don't let your guard down."
"It's because of you. Me smoking magick herbs, and my current miserable state. It all happened because I got swept up with you."
"Huh?"
Strange. Am I reading minds right now? Words I had only ever thought internally are coming out of my mouth.
She seemed quite pleased with my dumbfounded expression. Historia chuckled and brought the magick herb to her lips. She inhaled the immoral smoke into her body, exhaled deeply, and let out a sweet sigh.
"Haa... Do you want a puff?"
"Don't play the benefactor with what I gave you. Give back the rest quickly."
"Pfft. That's too much. What's yours and mine with magick herbs? We're smoking it together."
Her smiling so brightly feels extremely off-putting. How many latches of her mind have flown off? It's terrifying how much drugs can change a person.
While I lost my words, Maximilien stared intently at the magick herb Historia held and was appalled.
"...Is that a World Tree leaf? How do you have that? No, who handed it to you?"
Historia answered with a goofy grin.
"I don't know... Why should the smoker care? I'm just smoking it."
"Impossible! Among the Kings of Grass and Wood, there is nothing the Lord of all creation does not possess! In that case, through what route did the World Tree leaf slip out? It's impossible!"
"Then the Lord of all creation must have handed it over. Oh wait, Huey gave it to me, right? Keke. Huey, are you the Lord of all creation?"
Her answer showed she still had a screw loose in her head. Even Maximilien gave up on getting a proper answer and shook his head.
"In the end, even that answer depends on the King of Humanity. That's one more reason why I must secure him."
"I won't allow that."
Historia, who had been joyfully smoking the magick herb, suddenly wiped the smile from her lips. She only changed her expression, but it felt like the temperature of the air had dropped several degrees.
Every time she mumbled, the magick herb clamped between her lips bobbed up and down.
"That damn bastard, he's a wretch who causes trouble as he pleases and runs away irresponsibly... But still, that time was the best time for me."
Immediately after saying that, Historia kicked off the ground. She didn't need a running start. Landing lightly atop the steel beetle that was over six meters tall, Historia took a deep breath and stood up.
Maximilien spoke.
"An unrequited emotion, I see. He is the King of Humanity. He is not bound to a single individual."
"King of Humanity this, King of Humanity that, none of that matters. It's my memory. I won't let the Commander ruin it as he pleases!"
...This is why people must always show their best side. Look. Because I've lived faithfully, a past connection is helping me out like this.
It feels a bit excessive compared to what I've done for her. I should reciprocate, right? As a human being.
I stopped what I was doing, stood up, and climbed back onto the steel beetle. Walking slowly, I stood as if backing Historia up. Azi, who had been chasing the gears, saw me, hesitated for a moment, then squared his shoulders and sat down beside me.
A distinctly different situation from earlier. In the newly changed formation, Maximilien folded his fingers in dismay.
"Three on that side. One on this side... Even excluding the King of Dogs, it won't be easy."
Historia's condition is still not fully intact, and I am also at only half my full strength. The two of us combined would barely equal one whole.
However, the odds of winning are higher than at any other moment so far. I held my head high and spoke.
"You know it well. This is your last chance. I'll let you go if you flee."
Maximilien pondered seriously. He was a man who moved with logic and reason, much like a gear. He seriously considered whether to engage in a dangerous fight right here or to retreat safely.
'The King of Humanity can destroy my body just by touching it. I must never let him approach, but the problem is the skilled marksman in close combat. Without the steel beetle, it's hard to gain the upper hand. There are too many variables. Retreating now is the rational choice, but...'
The judgment was clear. However, one final lingering attachment held him back. Maximilien opened his mouth.
"You said I was ordinary."
I nodded readily, but added a word to comfort him.
"Don't be discouraged. Not just you, but all humans are ordinary. If you exclude a very, very small minority, that is."
"I know. Originally, humans themselves were just one of the ordinary beasts. Until they made themselves special..."
Maximilien looked down at his prosthetic arm and opened and closed his fingers. Though invisible from the outside, the gears inside the prosthetic arm meshed together intricately, mimicking human movement.
How much trial and error did he go through to make it move so naturally? Surely, that achievement was the result of a brilliant talent blossoming after repeated immense effort in a suitable environment. Undoubtedly, it is a remarkably outstanding technique.
But it is not 'special'. Because, ultimately, it merely replicated what already existed with gears.
At best, it is a substitute. No matter how precise the gears are, they are merely an extreme simplification of the world's logic. Maximilien knew this better than anyone else in the world.
"Perhaps I already knew it too. I am an outstanding person both objectively and subjectively, and I have reached a realm on a different dimension from ordinary people... but I lack something to reach the Demon God. I sought the King of Humanity to fill that deficiency."
"You found the right person. You figured out that I am the King of Humanity quite well. Now be satisfied with the audience and go back. It will be more than enough to serve as an anecdote to go with a beer with the folks back home."
"But if I give up here, wouldn't that just be the end of me?"
Maximilien muttered and placed both hands on the steel beetle's back. The moment he poured in a massive amount of mana, his prosthetic hands resonated with the alchemic steel and glowed white. The fingertips, where mana was concentrated, melted like lava.
He moved his melting fingers to draw a picture. A circle, a triangle, and a single straight line. A symbol that resembled a scale.
The beginning of alchemy, a Transmutation Circle.
Maximilien poured even more mana into it and muttered.
"Humans can do anything. No matter how crazy it is."
And a moment later, both his hands sank into the steel. Ripples formed. It looked as if he was putting his hands into the surface of water and playing with it.
Alchemy. A human technique that manipulates matter and transmutes it within the realm of possibility. It has numerous limits and restrictions, and regardless of the alchemist's level, the impossible remains impossible even if they die and come back to life, so it is not treated as mysticism. Compared to complex and mysterious Intrinsic Magicks, it is a plain level.
However, the essence of alchemy is not power. Alchemy is wealth. Like saving up small change for years to buy something you normally couldn't even dream of, you can pour the power accumulated through alchemy into a single moment to achieve a feat that would normally be impossible.
Even I, right now, am producing performance beyond my abilities through alchemy.
What if Maximilien does it?
I immediately shouted to Azi.
"Azi, jump!"
"Woof? Jump? Jump!"
Azi tilted his head but hopped in place just as I said. I'm grateful he listens so well, but the problem is that it's not the way I wanted.
"No, not jumping in place!"
"Woof? A different jump?"
While Azi expressed his confusion, Maximilien poured an enormous amount of mana from both hands.
The steel beetle was a result he assembled piece by piece from alchemic steel he personally refined. It itself is a weapon, but at the same time, it is also a material for alchemy. Just like my cards!
"Combat Alchemy. Mercury Diarche."
Maximilien's hands 'tore apart' the steel beetle.
It's not an Intrinsic Magick. He simply transmuted the entire steel beetle with his own mana. He decomposed and split its components.
Alchemy. A universal technique that I can also use freely, which is why it's a human ability that cannot be stolen and used.
The ground shakes. The steel beetle cracked open as if molting. My body floated up. Historia quickly grabbed me by the collar and stopped me from slipping. My breath hitched.
Thanks to Historia's quick response, I was safe, but Maximilien wasn't aiming for me in the first place.
"Woof! Woof woof woof woof woof!"
Azi, who had jumped into the air, fell straight into the crevice. Dropped inside the steel beetle, Azi dug his claws in and struggled to get out.
"We are the Lord of all creation..."
Maximilien muttered and forcefully brought both hands together. The palms met with a loud *clang* of metal striking metal.
Following his hand gesture, the split steel surged in like a wave. Before Azi could even escape, the crevices of the steel beetle were sealed. The sound of Azi's barking grew distant, as if it were coming from beyond a wall.
Having isolated Azi in an instant, Maximilien raised his arm. Steel was stuck messily all over his prosthetic arm.
Now, there was no trace of functional beauty or precision. What remained was madness and aggression. Aiming the grotesquely shaped piece of iron at us, Maximilien shouted.
"A beast that became special by killing the king with its own hands! There is nothing I cannot do!"