Chapter 645: Enforcer (2)
“58% of the Class 3 residential areas have been damaged beyond repair.”
“The entire street of the lower workshop district is completely destroyed. Over 150 casualties. Ongoing.”
“The food research district and the mid-level factory district collided during movement. Over 30 blocks fell.”
In a control room where thousands of monitors floated, hundreds of operators reported at a rapid pace.
The news emanating from their mouths was almost entirely about damage, collapse, casualties, and accidents.
Even their dispassionate voices gradually acquired hesitation, and with each report, they began to glance around nervously.
At the very back of the control room, someone standing with his hands behind his back smiled faintly.
“Why the sudden pause?”
“…”
“I’m listening intently. Please continue your reports. I wish to hear everything that is happening across the city.”
A young man with long, platinum-blonde hair. His very impression was indistinct, yet his immaculate aura felt all the more striking.
Despite his gentle smile, his inner thoughts remained unreadable, and his demeanor exuded a strange refinement.
Aside from his complexion being paler than usual, it was difficult even to dare speak to him.
“Committee Member Hermes…”
One of the executives overseeing the operators swallowed hard and called his name.
“Excuse me, but could you please slow down the Section Movement just a little?”
“…”
“The Section Movement began ahead of schedule, and despite issuing evacuation orders beforehand, many casualties are occurring.”
Even if they tried to report without emotion, the moments of death and destruction were reflected in real-time on the monitors.
“It is estimated that over 3,000 casualties occurred immediately after the Section Movement began. If we proceed with the Section Movement like this, it might become truly irreversible.”
At Hermes’s calm words, the controller whose name was called, Gilmore Brept, flinched.
Hermes stared intently into his eyes and spoke again.
“42 years old. Class 3 manager. 19 years of experience. You’ve worked in the control room for over 6 years, and you commute from a nearby residence. Three family members. A wife, a son, and a daughter, indeed.”
Gilmore gritted his teeth as Hermes rattled off his personal information without any record sheets or reports.
“Committee Member, even if you say that, I…!!”
“You’ve been in a relationship with Secretary Katsy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for two years, haven’t you?”
“…!!!”
At that moment, Gilmore’s face crumpled pitifully.
Hermes didn’t stop there.
“For four years, you’ve been taking kickbacks from the managers of each district during every Section Movement cycle, informing them of pre-assigned locations. The amount you’ve pocketed exceeds 800 million cells.”
“St-stop…”
“Eight years ago, on a rainy day, after fighting with your sibling over the mansion inherited from your parents. At the incinerator…”
“Aaaargh!! Aaaaargh!!!”
Gilmore screamed in desperation, tearing at his hair, then knelt on the spot and bowed his head.
“Please!! Please!!”
Gilmore rubbed his hands together frantically. The control room was instantly filled with a deathly silence.
The operators’ expressions were as pale as corpses, staring at their superior who had collapsed so easily.
Hermes looked down at the back of Gilmore’s head, then quietly knelt and stroked his hair.
“Controller Gilmore. Actually, I don’t dislike people like you.”
“Uh, h-he-heugh…!!”
“Everyone carries both good intentions and hidden flaws within them. Who can blame them for revealing different sides depending on the situation? But…”
Hermes, who had been stroking Gilmore’s quietly trembling head, suddenly gripped his hair tightly.
Crack!
Powerlessly, Gilmore’s gaze lifted, following Hermes’s hand.
Hermes, gripping his hair, smiled with an amiable expression and said,
“I don’t wish to receive advice from a person who crumbles simply by having their contradictions pointed out. Do you understand my feelings?”
“I-I understand…!!!”
Goodness and wickedness. Hermes believed these two concepts were not so antithetical.
How could a person live their entire life, spanning decades, under a consistent conviction?
Even the great Transcendent beings who challenged ascension, in the beginning, could not even dare to entertain the thought of transcending the world.
It was natural for those who earned the qualification to change their minds, reconsider their intentions, and transform their Mind Imprint.
As long as one reaches the correct answer in the end, the intermediate process holds no meaning whatsoever.
Therefore, Hermes believed that those who were ashamed of their own flaws had no responsibility or qualification whatsoever.
“Hmph, h-heugh…!!!”
As soon as Hermes released his hand, Gilmore pressed his forehead to the ground, sobbing quietly.
Everyone conspicuously ignored his prostrate form, as if worshipping a god, at Hermes’s feet.
Hermes’s demeanor, where he thoroughly crushed the controller’s desperate plea with just a few words, without even hitting or killing him.
Because that calm method of breaking him felt all the more terrifying.
It wasn’t pressure from intimidation, authority, or brute force.
His transparent tone and reactions, devoid of any discernible aura, and every word that emerged from them, pointed out and dismantled the opponent’s secrets and contradictions.
Why Ex Machina had granted him all authority related to the declaration of martial law.
Why they had ceded the decision-making power to significantly accelerate the Section Movement schedule of the Machine City, Machina.
Through an alien charisma, unlike that possessed by an ordinary potentate or leader, everyone had come to realize it.
Hermes looked back at the other operators and spoke with his usual transparent smile.
“Shall we continue?”
“…Understood.”
The operators’ pale hands moved more busily, manipulating the consoles.
Hermes leaned back in his chair, watching them, and then glanced at the fallen Gilmore.
“The controller might think this entire spectacle is wrong, but actually, the Machine City’s Section Movement was designed to be used this way.”
“…Yes, yes…?”
Hermes smiled transparently, even as he knew Gilmore lifted his gaze and the operators leaned in to listen.
“It’s natural for parts to wear out every time the city changes. Originally, they needed to be replaced much faster.”
“…”
Hermes was the very self consumed by an Ascendant’s memories from the Old World, but simultaneously, he was a powerful figure who held a corner of Ex Machina’s leadership.
With experience reigning at the pinnacle of Machina’s power and possessing an Ascendant’s memories, he knew why the Machine City had chosen Section Movement as its mode of existence.
“Everyone knew that it wasn’t just inorganic parts that should be ground down in a rapidly changing world.”
Hermes murmured.
“Now, it seems there are not many left who remember the causality of why the city was built this way…”
What the Machine City needed to move was not just parts made of oil and metal.
The oil and lifeblood squeezed from human flesh and blood. The cries of pain and the existence of spirits offered as sacrifices.
Through them, the entire city would be made into a single foundation, completing a grand culmination.
Long before the city was founded, its creators had intended to prepare for such a moment, should it ever arrive.
What Hermes was doing was merely awakening the arrangements they had laid out long ago, in advance.
Considering that, the accidents and harms occurring now were insignificant.
“The city’s power and spirit are converging into one. Excellent…”
Hermes, who had been nodding as if looking out over the entire city from his seated position with his eyes closed, slowly rose.
“I will go back and prepare.”
After surrendering himself to the memories left behind by the Old World Ascendant, Hermes had rushed forward, pouring all his assets and resources into that sole purpose.
The foolish human mind was merely a tiny candle flame before the overwhelming ego of a Transcendent.
Flesh, power, status, even situations and connections held no meaning.
The only thing that mattered was inheriting that great will, which was focused on ascension, in this world, and being truly reborn as himself.
By trading a Meister’s life, he succeeded in retrieving the Archangel from beyond the gate from the Old World, completing all preparations.
All that remained was to cast himself completely into the overwhelming ego and memories of the Ascendant, just as he had at the very beginning.
All preparations were complete.
Where the city’s hope ignited its spark, Hermes would once again obtain ‘qualification’.
Silence enveloped the Upper Workshop District. Lennok’s workshop.
Lennok stared at Maiya Lonsdale, who had raised her cold gaze, for a long time before speaking quietly.
“I’ve heard quite a bit about you in this city.”
“…”
Lennok slowly walked along the workshop wall, pulling shut the remaining curtains through the window cracks, and asked,
“Why are you here, when you were said to have fled after the failure of the Ascension Gate?”
Lennok had already encountered Maiya multiple times in different situations.
Hadn’t he clashed and cooperated with Jindun in the Hanghasa Labyrinth under the name Evan of the Eyes of Blue, and again in the satellite city of Bailuts as Victor of Pandemonium for a mid-term settlement?
He had faced Maiya as both an ally and an enemy, but not once had her presence failed to feel dangerous.
An individual with physical abilities transcending Hierarchy, reaching Level 8.
A genius with an intuitive talent for spellcasting, capable of skillfully using blood magic.
And sharp judgment, encompassing all her abilities, accumulated from her extensive experience as an Enforcer.
Wasn’t she once a hero who had accumulated overwhelming achievements and gained immense fame in this city?
The Maiya Lonsdale that Lennok had experienced was a formidable strongwoman whose grand epithet was not at all awkward, and she possessed outstanding intellect.
Yet, she was like a phantom, still unable to escape the shackles of the Ascension Gate’s failure.
Her very reason for joining Pandemonium was, of course, related to the failure of the Ascension Gate.
A being with such a sensitive nerve that merely mentioning that fact still caused her anger and pain.
But precisely because of that, Lennok had never imagined he would encounter Maiya at this point in time.
If the existence of the Machine City, Machina, was such a sensitive failure that merely thinking about it caused Maiya pain,
He had vaguely thought that Maiya would only return to this city after finding a fundamental solution to the problem.
“…”
Enemy or ally?
At least, the Enforcer Maiya Lonsdale that Lennok knew was closer to a superhuman who was skilled at directly severing the source of problems rather than resolving them.
It wouldn’t be strange at all if she were to immediately cut Lennok’s throat and stabilize the Machine City right now.
‘If a fight starts, I’ll need to create distance with Enakphil’s five fingers and buy time. The problem is, that means I’d have to block Maiya’s Miniature Universe at least twice for the conditions to be met…’
While waiting for an answer, he unconsciously assumed the worst-case scenario in his mind and planned a strategy.
Maiya, instead of answering Lennok’s question, silently lifted her gaze.
A blank look, as if surveying not the scenery of this workshop but the vast expanse beyond it.
She murmured, “Not much time left.”
“What?”
“With the failure of the second Ascension Gate, martial law has been declared in the city, and all armed groups within Machina are pursuing the cause of this situation.”
Maiya’s sharp gaze landed on Lennok’s face.
“As Hermes awoke in his new body, the suspect has narrowed down to this side.”
“…”
“The entire city is shaking as the Section Movement is forcibly carried out, but finding you is only a matter of time.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Lennok pulled a nearby chair and sat down, asking. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and inhaled the smoke.
Looking at the cigarette smoke rising above the three people’s heads, Lennok said,
“I already know that without you telling me. More than that, I want to hear your reason for coming to my workshop.”
“…”
“If you fled the city after the failure of the Ascension Gate, there’s no reason for you to return at this point. The city’s authorities buried the gate’s failure, yet they were liberally using the legacy of the gate you left behind.”
Lennok gestured lightly, holding the cigarette in one hand.
“I confirmed what Hermes was aiming for by doing all this at the Seafloor Barrier’s Heart-Star Vault. But you’re different.”
Without waiting for Maiya’s answer, Lennok added,
“If someone like you intervenes, there’s a high possibility the situation itself will be twisted. Knowing that, I need to know why you came to my workshop.”
If Maiya had appeared in another district of Machina instead of Lennok’s workshop, the entire city’s attention would have already been drawn there.
Considering that, Maiya must have concealed herself and sought out Lennok’s workshop first.
And the very act of doing so made it abundantly clear that she had business with Lennok.
Why had she, the very person who spearheaded the Ascension Gate project in the Machine City, Machina, returned to this city to find Lennok now that the gate was shattered?
Had she found a way to fundamentally resolve the failure of the Ascension Gate itself?
Even if it meant enduring more damage than a mere clash with this monstrous enforcer, it was absolutely necessary to address this.
“…”
Had she sensed something in Lennok’s sharp retort?
Maiya, who had been silently gazing at his face, formed a cold smile at her lips.
“You know your condition is compromised, yet you don’t hesitate. Is it because you grasp the situation that well?”
“…”
“You ramble on with recklessness, but your judgment is close to the correct answer. You truly aren’t an ordinary artisan.”
Maiya said that, then slowly withdrew the short sword she had held against Mouser’s neck.
“Hermes intends to create a new gate on the surface.”
Maiya leaned back in the chair, arms crossed, and murmured.
“Forcibly moving the districts, accepting casualties that don’t fit the phase, is preliminary work to prepare the necessary sacrifices. Once the Section Movement is complete, he’ll immediately finish the gate.”
“…”
Lennok knew that Hermes’s true objective was not to summon the God-Slayer, but to summon the Old World Ascendant himself.
But Maiya was going a step further, informing him that the current Section Movement was precisely that preliminary preparation.
“Find Hermes before the Section Movement is fully completed and prevent his true body from being summoned.”
Maiya’s gaze sharpened.
“I know you still have unfinished business with Hermes. If you’re willing to cooperate, in the name of Pathfinder, I will personally create a path for you to reach Hermes.”
“Create a path,”
Lennok scoffed.
“Hermes is the very ego of a Transcendent, unburdened by the shackles of flesh and mind. How do you intend to find him by yourself?”
“Of course, it’s not something I can accomplish alone.”
Instead of answering, Maiya brought the short sword she held directly to her forearm.
Slash!!
As she cut her forearm without hesitation, the wound opened and blood dripped onto the floor.
[Blood Magic: Quadruple Activation]
[One Child Arrives, Others Project (一子到來 他子投影)]
[Human Connection Restoration (人聯徒復)]
Screech!
The blood stains on the spot seemed to rise and form the shape of a small gate, which then slowly began to open.
Maiya looked at the rising blood gate and smiled coldly.
“So, I intend to summon an assistant. You have no objections, do you?”
“Th-this is…”
Mouser instinctively recoiled from the bizarre shape, and Lennok’s face hardened as he realized what spell Maiya had used.
It was the blood magic Maiya had used to summon the Director in the Hanghasa Labyrinth, the massive cradle where Jindun was sleeping.
Maiya intended to summon an assistant who did not exist in this city, using her own method.
Thump!!
For a moment, a massive presence was felt from beyond the gate, then it vanished as cleanly as if washed away, disappearing.
Instead, a listless voice echoed from beyond an unseen spatial rift.
[Maiya. I’m very busy right now. What is it?]
“Doctor, there’s work to be done.”
Maiya revealed her purpose to the voice immediately, without a care. Lennok, too, was not surprised, having guessed the identity of the speaker the moment he heard the voice.
She had intended to directly call The Doctor using her own blood magic at this point.
[Work to be done? That’s piling up every day even without you asking for it.]
“…”
[And your summoning method is truly crude and impolite. What impudent idea is it to transfer part of the output to the summoned target?]
The Doctor grumbled ceaselessly.
[Only a monster like the Director can pay the price and respond to this kind of summoning. If you expect things to go as smoothly as they did in the labyrinth…]
“The ego of a Transcendent has awakened beyond the Ascension Gate. It’s one of the worst-case scenarios we envisioned.”
At that moment, The Doctor’s words from beyond the gate suddenly stopped.
“I know you have no lingering attachments, but at least for this matter, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
Maiya spoke again, disregarding The Doctor’s reaction.
“Because it’s the very lingering attachment you yourself designed and brought into this world, Artemeyer.”
“…”
At that moment, The Doctor’s presence from beyond the gate began to change entirely.