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Chapter 153 - Intruders
🕑 Added 2020-10-22 17:04:06 +0000 UTC"One of my bodies was destroyed here by a laser from down the corridor." Tokomaha explains while standing in front of the big screen. She's using her spear to point at the place where it happened on the ship's interior map. "The one behind saw that it was one of the metal puppets with wings before getting hit as well."
It would appear that at least one of the Hestia-bots somehow made it aboard the Queen Pelomyx. I don't know how they bridged that distance so quickly or made it through the perfect sanctuary, but they're quite troublesome. With inhibition field generators in their chests and who knows what weapon systems on their bodies, we can't attack them without a plan.
"They're still far from any critical systems. I doubt they carry nuclear weapons, but their energy sources could make for powerful explosives." Exla types something on her console and pulls up security camera footage onto the big screen.
It displays a Hestia-bot gliding down a corridor on wheeled feet. One arm is fashioned into a cannon inspired by Hestia's laser spear, and the sectioned wing plates are most likely laser cannons as well. Those were able to cut through entire ships of the Venus Fleet, so if this one decides to go on a rampage, the Queen Pelomyx could be cut apart from the inside.
"I just confirmed four more of them." With her arms crossed and her head tilted in thought, Tokomaha adds. She must have sensed more of her clones getting destroyed. "I hate to say it, but with those inhibition things, I alone am no match for them."
"Then, we will take care of them." Rolan steps forward and declares. He and his party have shown their abilities while fighting inside Alverost's inhibition field generator prototype before. Although Svanhild and Halthor are Chosen Knights, they took well to the technology Kleihn provided them.
"It's alright. As long as we don't use anything created through the Imagination Engine to fight them, they don't pose much of a problem." I state with a shrug. Tokomaha only has trouble with them because all she can do is throw spears and aim for weak spots in armor. These Hestia-bots are covered in some futuristic alloy that she can't penetrate. And if her clones get too close, they will be dispersed by the inhibition field.
"That sounds like a job for me then." Korenga puts her fist in her palm and cracks her knuckles. Her power is derived from a curse rather than the Imagination Engine. The Black God can't be stopped by technology.
"Me too." Kamii clicks her crab pincer audibly and glances at Hestia. The fallen angel fought by my side in space earlier, so the little dark elf wants to show her cool side. And against the Hestia-bots, the original might not be able to do much. After all, conventional weapons are too destructive to be used inside the ship, and she has no other means to fight. Kamii, on the other hand, has her cursed arm, which is much like Korenga's black form.
"Exla, tell Tahiri to stay here when she returns from checking the circuits." I declare while waving over my other half and the twins. The latter two perform a mirrored salute with enthusiastic grins. "Tokomaha, you stay here and inform us about any more intruders through the comms."
"Understood." The little goddess salutes as well, learning from watching the twins. We're not organized as a military, so this is just playing around, but I act like a superior officer and respond with a nod.
"What about me?" Suddenly, Dregana steps out of the shadow of a corner in the command center and asks. It catches me by complete surprise, and I stare at her for a moment. I don't even remember her getting on board, but given how she has been following around Hestia like a puppy, it shouldn't be surprising that she's here.
As a dragonkin, she's reliant on the Imagination Engine to transform, but she's physically a dragon once she does so. While that means she could fight with her strength, I don't see how she can stand up to the Hestia-bots who use laser cannons. Also, the corridors would be too narrow for her dragon form.
"Stay here and protect Hestia." I reply before quickly turning to the fallen angel to preempt her complaint. "Keep an eye on the sensors. For all we know, this might be a distraction so that an outside enemy can approach."
The massive fleet that Sintress's perfect sanctuary destroyed was most likely the vast majority of the Venus Fleet. But the likelihood of more ships being produced by whatever spacedocks the last one came from is very high. After all, they can print them as if they were leaflets. I don't know how much time we have until another fleet is ready, but the artificial intelligence governing the Venus Fleet is continuously evolving. Next time they might come with inhibition field generator bubbles covering their entire ships.
"Sintress, you could surely help against the intruders, but please stay here in case more of the Venus Fleet comes. You will be needed to defend the entirety of the ship." I address the Lady of Brilliance. She nods wordlessly, and I suppress the urge to sigh in relief that she's so accommodating. Sintress truly is a good girl.
"Then we will go in her stead." Arcelia declares in a tone that leaves no room for argument. Still, I glance her up and down with a skeptical gaze; unless she's capable of erecting the perfect sanctuary, she might as well be a civilian compared to the level we're dealing with. After all, she's physically human, and I don't think she knows how to strengthen herself.
"Do not doubt her, Chaos." With a warm smile, Sintress puts a hand on her daughter's shoulder. I wouldn't expect Arcelia to ever explode in anger, but somehow that gesture suggests that the Saint of Luminosity might do so when I'm involved.
"Alright. But you said we." I look at Arcelia's closed eyes, then shift my gaze to Sigurd. I expected him to go with Rolan and Gram, if at all, but it would seem that he comes as a pair with the saint.
"I know what you may be thinking, Lady Chloe." With a wry smile, the bard tips his feathered hat. He then turns to give Rolan and the others a sideways glance. "But I have fallen far behind my old comrades."
He must be referring to the fact that they adopted the use of technology and trained in the Imagination Engine while he spread the word in the Empire of Terminus. Although he's Sintress's son, that doesn't necessarily mean he's special. Back then, all he could boast was incredible hearing, a great vocal range, and an impeccable sense of direction - all of which are abilities still within human limits.
"I can only assist Lady Crux now." Sigurd still refers to his half-sister in such a distant way. I guess it's hard for siblings who grew up separated from each other until adulthood to bond as a family.
"I understand. Then you two will be stationed in the engineering bay." It contains our most essential modules in the form of the fusion reactor, life support systems, and the currently still unresponsive engine. Furthermore, Kleihn is working there by herself, and I would feel safer if people who can fight are with her.
"As you wish." Sigurd performs an exaggerated bow while Arcelia only nods.
"Alright, let's go then." With a grand gesture, I announce our departure to battle. Rewera suddenly steps up to me from the side when I walk to the door.
"Please allow me to accompany you." She requests with a bow. I've heard that she's powerful enough to match Chandra in a fistfight, and I know that the Ajura chief can seemingly effortlessly bend steel armor with her punches.
"I expected you to say that we should leave this to the Maid Corps instead." I assert with a grin, but she shakes her head in response.
"I would have suggested as much if I did not see what Lady Hestia was capable of." Rewera gestures at the fallen angel, who blinks her eyes in surprise. "If these are modeled after her, the maids would risk losing their lives."
It's praise and admittance of weakness in one statement. Although the Maid Corps weren't established for combat, many of its members are uniquely powerful among the demons. But most of them rely on the Imagination Engine to do so, especially now that we've been teaching them. I wouldn't send any of them into battle against the Hestia-bots either, out of fear that they might die.
"I see. That's good judgment." With an approving nod, I turn back to the door again. "Tokomaha, lead the way."
I'm talking to one of her clones, as the original is staying in the command center. She performs a salute and steps through the door first, where a dozen more clones wait with their spears ready. The little goddess said that she's no match for the Hestia-bots, but that doesn't mean she won't try again and again.
This is the first time I'm considering the fact that these clones appear to possess individual personalities rather than being remote-controlled puppets. I'd love to explore how that works within the Imagination Engine, but that will have to wait for when this is all over. I can split myself up, so this is nothing more than idle interest.
Nearly a dozen pairs of footsteps follow me out, and I turn around to put everybody into teams. That's when I realize that Aurelia is among them, acting as if it were completely natural for her to join the fight. She should know from experience that her powers, which are derived entirely from the Imagination Engine, are very susceptible to the inhibition field generators. It's also the reason why I didn't bring her with me into the space battle before.
"I know what you want to say, Chaos. But I can take care of myself." The Golden Queen preempts the comment about to leave my lips. An array of golden swords and spears are floating behind her like a peacock's plumage. For now, it's still closed so that she doesn't take up too much space in the corridor.
I guess the momentum of physical objects is preserved even when one's psychic-like control over it is broken. So if Aurelia launches her golden swords and spears, they maintain their speed after entering an inhibition field. Still, the only reason her weapons are so destructive is that she controls their shape through the Imagination Engine. Gold by itself is too soft to scratch the alloys of the Hestia-bots.
"Alright, but you'll stay with me." I'm sure she knows herself that gold is a soft metal and not used for weapons.
"Are you underestimating me?" With a displeased look on her face, she sweeps her hair back and glares at me. But I step up to her, grab her waist, and pull her in.
"We haven't fought side by side in a while. I just want to be near you, My Queen." I whisper sweetly, causing her expression to relax into an ironic smile. She understands that I'm just buttering her up, but that doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy it.
"Very well." With a nod, she grabs my chin and forces my face down toward her. I expect a kiss, but she pushes me away with a self-assured smile. "Make sure not to get in my way."
That's the cocky attitude that I fell for. It's not arrogance if she can back it up, although, at this point, practically everybody but the Old Humans and my fellow Cosmic Horrors are out of their depth. After all, if the Imagination Engine is taken out of the equation, advanced technology and otherworldly powers reign supreme.
"Alright, we're splitting up to take care of as many of them at the same time as possible. We don't know if they're communicating with each other. If one is destroyed, the others may go on a rampage." I announce the game plan. "Move out."
We're first heading for the engineering bay together and form a perimeter around it before splitting into our respective groups and going out into the sprawling Queen Pelomyx to hunt the intruders. Everybody has communications devices patched through to Exla, who will direct them to the Hestia-bots when they show up on surveillance feed.
I decided that Kamii, Aurelia, and Rewera would come with me. Rolan and his party are staying together while Korenga and the twins are teaming up. Finally, Asoko said that she would take care of things on her own. I don't know what she has been doing since we separated, but she only learned about the Imagination Engine in passing. Maybe she has powered up immensely since I last saw her in Arkaim.
This will be the first time I get to see Rewera's power. So far, I've only heard about it from the other maids but never witnessed anything myself. It may have been a good thing that she never had to fight when I was there.
"Kleihn, come out for a moment." I call out to the gremlin maid, whose little butt is sticking out from an open panel in the ship's main engine. The short green-haired tail is waving in the air, accompanied by the clicking and clanging sound of tools deeper inside the machine. "Kleihn?"
It seems that she's so engrossed in her task that she can't hear my voice. Walking over to her, I grab her tail and stroke it with a sensual touch. Her hips jump, and I hear a loud bang, followed by a moan of pain. Knowing exactly what happened, I instantly feel sorry for the gremlin maid and help by pulling her out from the opening.
"Uhh, Chaos-sama..." Kleihn sits down on the floor and rubs the top of her head. I squat in front of her and give her an apologetic smile.
"Sorry for startling you. You weren't answering." I caress her cheek, causing her to blink her eyes in embarrassment. She then notices Rewera towering behind me and quickly scrambles to her feet in fear. Before the maid leader, she has to adhere to formality.
"I haven't gotten very far with the engines yet. This is the most complex machine I have ever seen." The little gremlin maid quickly rattles down her report, causing me to smile wryly. "I will redouble my efforts and finish within the day. Or night. It's hard to tell what time it is in space."
"Don't worry. That's not what we're here for." I pat Kleihn's head and calm her down. "The enemy has infiltrated the ship. We don't know how many there are, but every single one of them could destroy the engineering bay on their own."
"Are they those mechanical Fata replicas?" She asks with glittering eyes. Anything machine excites gremlins, and Kleihn is the most gremlin-like of them all. When I reply in the affirmative, her lips widen into a delighted smile that belies the potential danger they pose to her and this ship. "Could I ask Chaos-sama to bring me one with as little damage as possible?"
"Now look here, this isn't a game. Those are-" I wrinkle my eyebrows and begin to rebut her, but she quickly interrupts me.
"I'll make it worthwhile!" She jumps into my chest and hugs me tightly before looking up with puppy eyes. My heart skips a beat at this sight, and my mind races at the implications of her offer.
"Kleihn!" Rewera booms behind me, causing the gremlin maid to flinch. She lets go of me and staggers back a few steps before bowing her head deeply.
"It's alright." I raise a hand to stop the maid leader from lecturing Kleihn about etiquette and attitude toward her queen. She's quite strict with these things even when I prefer a more casual relationship with my maids. I want them to like me rather than respect me purely out of duty. "I'll see what I can do."
I pet the little gremlin's hair, and she looks like she's about to jump into my chest again. However, she glances up at Rewera and holds herself back from doing so. Instead, she bows and expresses her gratitude. Sighing, I turn to look at the maid leader with a wry smile.
"In either case, these two will be staying here with you. I know that you lose yourself in tinkering, but listen to them when they tell you to take cover." I gesture at Arcelia and Sigurd, who watched my exchange with Kleihn in patient silence. The latter smiles warmly, which makes me feel like he's belittling me.
"Understood, Chaos-sama." The maid bows to me once more and then turns to Sintress's two children to do the same. "I will be in your care."
It's rare to see maids who usually only work behind the scenes acting like this. Unless Rewera is around, they don't even bow to me anymore, so this gives me a nostalgic feeling.
"With this out of the way, it's time to go." I turn to the hunting parties and announce. The engineering bay is at the center of the Queen Pelomyx, so we will fan out in every cardinal direction. Tokomaha has already confirmed more than fifteen Hestia-bots, so we have our work cut out for us. At this point, we can't even try taking them out all at the same time to avoid self-destruction of the others. "Keep on the channel and make sure only to take fights you know you can win."
Everybody present cheers with varying degrees of enthusiasm in their voices. Some people, such as Aurelia and Svanhild, feel that it's beneath them to act like foot soldiers under a general. Others, like Gram and Korenga, have no such inhibitions and give it their all to pump themselves up.
Finally, we split into our parties and head for different doors out of the engineering bay. Looking back, I find Kleihn already burying herself back into her work while Arcelia and Sigurd watch with warm smiles. They must think that she's a child playing around.
My eyes meet with Asoko's, who gives me a grin and nods knowingly. I assume she's going to go all out in her Crawling Chaos form, which is only possible because she will be alone. The door closes behind her, and my Chaos senses tingle; I was right, and she transformed the moment she was out of sight. Somehow, that makes me feel competitive.
"Let's clean them up quickly and get back for a meal." I declare, eager to get done for various reasons.
"As you wish." Rewera nods and takes off her gloves. This is the first time I've seen her do that, and I can tell that it's her sign of getting serious.
"Do not get ahead of yourself, Chaos." Looking down at me with her head tilted back, Aurelia makes her intention to show off here very clear. Maybe she's sensing that there's more behind my eagerness than meets the eye.
Only Kamii doesn't say a word and walks firmly.
Asoko knew that when she's with her other half, she would be overshadowed. And sure enough, after being called back by Chaos, she disappeared into the background along with her two children. As a clone, she seems to be nothing more than a fake next to the original.
That thought had plagued Asoko for a long time, and living with the demon maids while deceiving them about her identity had only made it worse. But when she was thawed out and saw Lenoly and the maids who had been willing to journey across the world for her, she had finally overcome that feeling.
Kuroe Makoto split into two individuals at the start of her life in this world. The half that returned to the castle and met their mother before Asoko even learned the truth about her own existence is undoubtedly the original. However, that doesn't make her less of a person; Asoko has her own life, and the people who love her are proof that she stands apart from Chaos.
But even then, a little shard of envy remains in her heart. She may have said that she doesn't want a life in the limelight, but it wasn't an easy decision. Hearing from Senka what Chaos went through when they were separated taught her that she lived in a different world altogether. Not only is she the original, but her experiences are much like those of the main characters in those epic stories she read in her previous life.
Being called back only showed her that once more. While Asoko had traveled to the Adanak Kingdom and retraced Chaos's steps, her other half had saved the world several times. She has hopelessly fallen behind, and there's nothing she can do about it - especially not when she's with Chaos.
That's why going alone on this intruder hunt is her way to reclaim a little pride in herself. She will capture or destroy the most Hestia-bots and be able to triumph over her other half at least in this little game. After all, she can go all-out when she's alone.
"I'm such a fool." Asoko mutters and sighs, although the voice that emerges is not of this world. At least when it comes to their true appearance, she's no different from Chaos. They are both existences that distort reality, and the only variable is their experience in utilizing their abilities.
"You're close. Just two more corridors." Senka's voice resounds inside Asoko's head, pulling her from her melancholic reverie. If the doll girl was able to read her mind, she's not commenting on it. "The bot just entered the camera's blind spot. Be careful."
"That doesn't matter to me." Gliding through the empty but brightly illuminated corridor like a living shadow, Asoko moves soundlessly. She's in a Crawling Chaos's true form, shapeless and ever-changing, spreading like an ink droplet in water. Any living being with a weak will would instantly lose their sanity upon seeing her, but she's alone now. Surely, cameras could never capture the truth about her as one's eyes could.
As her form rounds a corner, the Hestia-bot is right in front of her. Without hesitation, Asoko spills all over it and instantly swallows the robot whole. Even if it can shoot lasers that melt futuristic battleship armor in the blink of an eye, it's useless if that is fired into infinity.
Fixing the Hestia-bot in place against her inner wall, Asoko opens the other dimension inside her body toward endless darkness. With the arm laser and the wing cannons held in place, that's the only place the robot can aim them. Struggling with joint-creaking intensity, it tries to free itself while unleashing laser beams into the abyss.
Of course, Asoko can't deliver this live weapon to Kleihn, so she spreads her tendrils and enters through the tiniest cracks in the Hestia-bot's armor. She suddenly overlays the image of the struggling robot covered in her tentacles with the original Hestia and quickly disperses the thought. That's a dangerous thought. Instead, she concentrates on finding some important-looking circuits and severs them one by one.
Eventually, the robot ceases its functions. Unlike in fiction, it doesn't go limp and instead remains rigid in the pose it was in before the power source was cut. Another movie trope broken by reality.
All in all, it took Asoko less than ten seconds to subdue the first intruder without causing any collateral damage to the Queen Pelomyx. She's looking forward to beating her other half this time.
Rolan and his party follow Senka's instructions and soon encounter their first target. Not knowing how destructive this winged automaton shaped like Hestia could be, they approach it with caution. For that, Gram has deployed his shield with Svanhild behind him. Rolan and Halthor are taking a detour through other corridors to flank the machine.
Although it has spotted the towering bald man with his massive energy shield, the automaton appears to be observing him. If it begins to shoot its wing lasers, it could cause a lot of damage to the interior of the Queen Pelomyx, so they try not to aggravate it until everybody is in position.
"Lady Exla said that energy shields were science fiction." Svanhild mutters behind Gram while looking at the glowing shield emerging from the center of his physical one. That must mean Kleihn invented something even the Old Humans thought impossible. After all, this shield remained active even inside the inhibition field generator that Alverost carried.
"Don't worry about it too much." Gram replies with a grin that visibly lifts the corners of his mustache. "All of this is beyond me. But what I know is that we have to do everything to get to the sun and save Runa."
Svanhild is aware of that herself. She had been trained as a Chosen Knight and thought she was standing at the top of the world right below the gods. But then, Chloe Marcott returned as a being that could challenge and even best these gods. Her world was shattered when she learned that everything she had been taught was a lie.
All she can do now is let herself get swept along by the person who messed up her life. But in reality, she's not truly angry about being awakened from this dream. She may even be grateful to Chloe for opening her eyes to the truth.
"Uh-oh." The big man's voice pulls Svanhild out of her thoughts.
"What?" She quickly asks, instantly worried.
"The automaton seems to consider us an enemy now." Gram responds with a wry smile. He points ahead to show that the winged machine has raised its laser cannon and aims at them.
"This shield will hold, right?" Svanhild mutters in a doubtful tone. It worked against the lasers that Alverost's mechanical arms unleashed, but this one's weapon gives her a much more powerful impression. After all, she witnessed what Hestia was capable of, and these are modeled after her.
"Are you in position?" The big man skips over Svanhild's question and speaks into the earplug-like device that lets them communicate with each other across large distances without having to shout.
"Halthor and I are in position. On my mark." Rolan's voice responds a moment later. Halthor and the leader are on opposing sides of the crossing and will move in for a pincer attack. All Gram has to do is advance and keep the automaton's attention on him. His translucent glowing shield and big frame are perfect for that. "Go!"
All four spring into action at once. Although the big man mainly acts as a distraction, Svanhild is his follow-up. It's a similar strategy to the one they used against Alverost, and this automaton is most likely not as powerful as an Old Human.
A violet laser beam hits Gram's shield but is dispersed harmlessly. It would appear that Kleihn's invention triumphs over even advanced technology. However, the automaton suddenly spreads both its mechanical wings and unleashes a barrage from the tips of their segments down the corridors on its sides.
Both Rolan and Halthor have a personal shield, but theirs are far smaller than Gram's. The leader ducks low so that the energy barrier deployed from the back of his left hand covers more of his body. On the other side, Halthor utilizes the strength given to him through his Chosen Knight training to charge forward in one go while barely avoiding the beams.
The automaton appears to realize its position and flies backward. However, Halthor is already on it and reaches out with his gauntleted hand. He's the Lightning Knight, and even if he's vastly overshadowed by the woman named Tahiri, who is like a real goddess, his electric discharges are like lightning.
His fingers brush against the metal wing and an electric arc forms between them. At least that's what was supposed to happen, but the automaton's surface seems to be non-conductive. With that, Halthor's main form of attack is rendered ineffective.
However, he doesn't let that discourage him. He fought Korenga, who was immune to his lightning, to a standstill back during the war. The inhibition field bubble only covers the head and torso, so the rest is still susceptible to the Imagination Engine. As a Chosen Knight, he wasn't selected solely for his ability to generate electricity. His combat sense is extraordinary, as well.
Reaching out with his other hand, Halthor grabs one of the automaton's wing segments and pulls it toward him. Finding the perfect distance from the inhibition field generator, he steps on the robot's thigh and pulls with all his might. Metal creaks and then rips, and the Lightning Knight holds the automaton's broken left wing in his hand.
In the next moment, Rolan comes into range with Roshanee. The glowing blade effortlessly shreds the right wing down to the lower joint but then bounces off the alloy. That's how far out the inhibition field generator extends from the dome on the automaton's chest. It raises its laser cannon arm into the leader's face, who barely raises his oval energy shield in time to block the beam.
Finally, Svanhild emerges from behind Gram, activates the boosters on her drill lance, and flies straight at the now wingless automaton. It turns its head with the mask-like face, then raises its left forearm to block the lance.
Svanhild shreds right through that arm and then the chest dome before the force of her drill rips the entire automaton into pieces. Turning around after passing through the broken machine, the Dragon Knight looks at the remains to make sure it won't explode.
"One down." She whispers to herself in a satisfied tone. Even after everything, she can still contribute.
