Chapter 1954 – 1954. Hotly
“What are you plotting?”
His eyes sharpened. His gaze was full of distrust. I didn’t like that look, so I stabbed his heart with a knife and twisted it.
“Kuh-uh-uh!”
He still wasn’t dead.
Creating robots to run Japan. It was an absurd plan. But looking at the Phoenix’s Heart, it didn’t seem like such an impossible plan.
‘I’ve heard everything I need to, is there any need to keep this guy alive?’
I thought about it carefully, but there really wasn’t. In fact, leaving him like this felt more unsettling. Just like I use Complete Recovery, he might recover at any time and stab me in the back.
As soon as I made my decision, I swung my sword.
Swish!
I smoothly sliced off his head like cutting tofu. His head rolled onto the floor. I couldn’t be at ease with just this. I felt like I needed to crush his brain to be at ease. His immortality was beyond common sense.
It was the moment I lifted my right foot.
“It’s a meaningless act. Even if my brain is crushed, I won’t die.”
He said.
“How are you talking when your head is cut off?”
“It’s a simple Yin-Yang technique.”
“You can use Yin-Yang techniques in that state?”
“This is the limit. It’s only possible because it’s me.”
I grabbed his hair and lifted his head. His eyes were still unwavering and firm. He had no fear of death.
‘Even if his head is crushed, he doesn’t die. Surely it’s not complete immortality.’
In fiction, there were different types of immortality.
The type where the body regenerates, the type that reverses time, and the type that uses clones. Seeing him speak so calmly even with just his head left, he seemed to be the clone type. Since he’s an Onmyoji, maybe it’s a Shikigami?
‘There was also the case where they completely die and then transfer to another body prepared for their soul. Maybe I shouldn’t kill him completely.’
Let’s change my approach.
Instead of killing him, I’ll carry him around. Since he only has a head, his frustration would be unimaginable. The moment his mind breaks, I can extract a lot of information or whatever else.
“Can you survive if I pickle you in formalin?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you try?”
“Cooperate. I can put your head in a jar and throw it deep into the ocean.”
“……”
He shut his mouth. Did it work? I don’t know. His eyes were still calm.
“How do you touch the Phoenix’s Heart? Don’t give me that ‘you’re not qualified’ bullshit. Tell me the specific method.”
“…It’s talent. You don’t have the talent for fire.”
“And you do?”
“I wouldn’t have handled it if I didn’t. If you want to move the Phoenix’s Heart, touch it indirectly. Then at least you won’t get burned.”
“You should have said that sooner.”
I tore off the clothes from his upper body, wrapped the Phoenix’s Heart, and carefully touched it. I really didn’t get burned.
‘I can’t put it in my inventory.’
To put something in my inventory, I need to meet certain conditions. First, I have to be able to lift it. Second, I have to touch it directly. I couldn’t put it in my inventory by touching it indirectly like this.
I had no choice but to hold his head in one hand and the Phoenix’s Heart in the other.
I went outside. A cool breeze blew. It was refreshing.
“I’ll make you one last offer.”
“What other nonsense are you going to spout? I’m curious. Bark.”
“I am immortal. You have now made an immortal your enemy. I’ll give you one last chance not to be my enemy. Put my head and the Phoenix’s Heart back in the house and go to Korea. Then you’ll never have to meet me again.”
“How can I believe that?”
“A skilled Onmyoji does not lie. Words have power, and lies can become curses that return to oneself.”
“Bullshit. I don’t trust you.”
“Are you going to make a foolish choice to the end? You idiot.”
“This bastard, just because he can’t die, he’s talking however he wants.”
I grabbed his hair and swung his head around in the air. He seemed to hold on for a moment, but soon he screamed.
“Aaaah! Stop! I’m dizzy! I feel like I’m going to throw up! Stop it!”
“How can a guy with only a head throw up?”
I spun his head around a few more times and then stopped.
Then, I picked up his head, whose face had turned pale, and looked at the other houses. All of them had drones operating machinery. It was a futuristic scene, yet somehow dystopian.
“I know what kind of parts they’re making… but what exactly are they making?”
“I’ll tell you if you stop spinning my head. Even if he’s a Machine Emperor, it’s impossible to seize and control Japan in an instant. There are still many people in Japan who insist on analog. They’re making robots that will become the Machine Emperor’s physical hands and feet.”
“That’s quite ambitious.”
I looked at the machines and drones. They were all state-of-the-art. I had no idea what kind of technology was involved.
“By the way. That Erosion Dungeon in Palgongsan. Did you make that?”
It was too good of a coincidence that the Erosion Dungeon appeared.
“What if I did?”
“……Is it possible for a human to manipulate a dungeon? How did you do it?”
“I don’t know either. I just used the artifact I received from the Master. The Master would know the details.”
“Master?”
“The leader of Baekrim. Rimju. I call him Master.”
I didn’t ask about Rimju. I wasn’t particularly curious, and I didn’t want to get deeply involved with Baekrim. My goal right now was to take care of the Machine Emperor or whatever it was.
‘It’s definitely here.’
As I looked around the village, I found a drone carrying machine parts into the basement.
“…So you finally found it.”
“I knew there would be something underground. It’s the perfect place to hide something.”
I went inside, gleefully.
It was like a secret base from a tokusatsu show. Or rather, a place decorated with state-of-the-art technology. At the end of the passage was a large space where I could see the Machine Emperor.
A giant humanoid robot over 10 meters tall!
‘I thought it was a Gundam.’
It was a robot clad in black armor. Judging by its appearance, it seemed almost complete. I looked up at the giant robot and let out a gasp of admiration.
“To think you were making something like this here.”
“You seem surprised. Well, it’s only natural to be surprised.”
He said arrogantly. Thinking about it again, this guy didn’t seem right in the head either.
“…But how did you make it? Did Japan have such state-of-the-art technology to make a giant robot like this?”
It didn’t seem like even the US could make a robot like this. It was clearly over-technology that didn’t fit this world.
“Surprisingly, not much advanced technology is involved.”
“What?”
“It’s Onmyodo. That robot is, in short, a giant Shikigami. In terms of magic, you could call it a steel golem. Even though it looks flashy, it’s actually a robot that runs on Onmyodo.”
“That’s not a robot.”
“It is a robot.”
I could feel his stubbornness.
I was about to argue to break his stubbornness, but I stopped. There was nothing to gain from arguing with a guy who only had a head.
“If that’s your Shikigami, it’s not fair. Wasn’t the Machine Emperor you were pursuing supposed to be a being with perfect fairness like a scale?”
“That’s why I prepared artificial intelligence. It’s still a newborn AI that hasn’t gathered data or developed a self, but as it gathers data, it will mature and eventually become a true Machine Emperor that will rule and develop Japan.”
“The Phoenix’s Heart, which is a perpetual motion machine, and artificial intelligence. That’s a terrifying combination.”
Now, how do I take this giant robot in front of me? Should I shove the Phoenix’s Heart in and make it operate?
“It’s about time I stopped playing around.”
He said. I narrowed my brow and raised my guard, realizing that the atmosphere had changed.
The space above my head tore open, and someone wearing a black coat appeared and attacked me.
[Using Flash(刹那). Remaining stacks: 4]
I tried to dodge to the side using Flash immediately. But he was faster than me, even with Flash. He grabbed my neck and slammed me into the ground.
Kwaaaang!
My head slammed into the ground, and I was shocked.
‘Even though I used Flash, he reacted immediately and grabbed me and slammed me down?’
I couldn’t move my body.
In that short moment, my neck bones seemed to have broken, and my central nervous system was messed up.
I won’t use Complete Recovery. It’s not the time to use Complete Recovery now.
Thud.
Someone else appeared next to me.
“As expected of the Master. He’s not an easy opponent, but you subdued him in an instant.”
It was the voice of the guy who only had a head left. At the edge of my vision, I could see his face, which was stiff.
‘Two of them? So it was a clone after all.’
The situation was the worst. The good thing was that they weren’t trying to kill me right away.
“His reaction speed was extraordinary. I almost missed him. I heard this guy had a female companion.”
“Ah. I went to check, but she wasn’t there. She got away. Anyway, the Association probably knows we’ve moved, so it doesn’t matter if there are witnesses, right?”
“…Hmm. So, what are we going to do with this guy?”
“We’re going to seal him and use him as auxiliary power for the Machine Emperor. We were looking for an electricity user, so this is perfect.”
“Do we really need an electricity user? We have the Phoenix’s Heart, don’t we?”
“We need it. There are many things we can use electricity for.”
He muttered something. He was using Onmyodo. His Onmyodo began to constrict and bind my body.
‘Am I really going to be sealed?’
Crack, crack!
With the sound of something hard scraping, my body was encased in crystal. Soon, my entire body was trapped in crystal.
“Is he sealed?”
“Thanks to you, it was a complete success. He’s now a living power source. Look…”
Pzzzzzzzt!
Lightning escaped from my body. Or rather, the mana inside me, the lightning energy, was moving on its own.
“We can extract electricity like this. He’s literally a living generator.”
I was filled with rage.
‘This bastard. How dare he use me as a living generator?’
I will definitely kill that bastard. And I will also destroy his plan. I made a firm resolution.
“What about his consciousness?”
“It’s gone. It was sealed along with his body. He’s not dead, but he’s not alive either. We have no intention of releasing the seal, so you can consider it over. Haha. I thought things were going wrong, but it actually shortened the time. With this, the Machine Emperor will be born within three days.”
“……”
“Your expression is gloomy. What’s wrong, Master?”
“…Machine Emperor. I’m starting to wonder if this is the right plan. Is it really right for machines to rule Japan?”
“The Machine Emperor has no desires like humans. Complete equality. The Machine Emperor will save this doomed Japan.”
“……The Machine Emperor is just one of the methods. If it doesn’t seem right in the middle, I’ll dispose of it.”
“As you wish. But that will never happen.”
