Chapter 326 Fortress of Solitude Pt.III
Automatons were machines created in the likeness of sentient beings. They were mortals’ best attempt at recreating life from scratch. Depending on what they were made for, automatons were stronger, faster, and smarter than humans.
However, there was one factor automatons lacked. And this was emotion. The forceful injection of souls, the insertion of hearts, or the numerous attempts at getting them to bond with others all resulted in failure. No matter what was done, automatons simply lacked emotions.
Yurei, was one such automaton.
However, for the very first time since her inception, Yurei could feel a twinge in her chest. There was a weird bumpiness in her stomach, and her skin tingled. It unlocked something from the past of the soul inhabiting the automaton. A feeling that was primal to all living souls.
For the very first time, Yurei felt what she could only describe as insurmountable fear.
And this fear was being caused by the monstrosity that had its murderous gaze pinned on her.
This was a completely absurd scene for her. That amount of cosmic radiation was more than a lethal dose for any regular being. It would have taken even a god some time to recover from that. Of course, she never initiated this whole plan with the belief that Hinotori was any regular being.
Still, she couldn’t sense anything godly related to her. It made absolutely no sense how she simply wasted no time with that attack.
Her mind rattled through the possibilities as she scanned through Hinotori’s available abilities, before her eyes eventually widened in horror.
‘W-When did... how!?’
While her mind was frozen, her body was ready to protect itself.
She pulled out a butterfly knife from her boots, quickly striking at Hinotori’s sides.
*****
That was easily the most painful experience I’d ever had.
I feel like my soul left my body at some point.
Fortunately, [Evolver] kicked in at the last moment! And so… ta-da! A new, unique skill [Darwin’s Final Gambit]!
[Darwin’s Final Gambit] is a super powerful skill that only ever activates at the final moments of its user. When the user is on their last life, all negative effects on the user are forcefully removed, and the user’s abilities are boosted by 10 times! At that point, it’s basically up to you to save yourself.
Unfortunately, this ability can only be used once per day and lasts only as long as you’re still on your last legs. Meaning, if you even get just 1 more HP, the skill immediately deactivates. Essentially, you instantly become a glass cannon!
But hey, no pain, no gain, right!?
And [Evolver] gave this skill to me too! Hahaha!
As soon as I got the alert that [Evolver] was acting up, I knew I was really screwed! Because if it wasn’t that bad, I’d have simply died and been reborn thanks to my phoenix rebirth skill. That really was almost the end for me.
Hahaha!
I quickly used [Energy Transcriber] to convert all that cosmic radiation into Chaos energy. Hahaha! Brilliant, right? RIGHT!?
I’m a genius! I’m the absolute best! Everyone should bow to me and shower me with praise! This world and everything in it belongs to me! Yes! Rather than causing me some problems, everyone needed to be serving me.
Yes. The demons, the humans, the demi-humans, the merfolk, the gods, the devils, and that bitch vampire queen all need to bow! How dare they cause me so many problems!?
They all deserve punishment. Punishment so intense that they will never dare cause me problems again.
Yes. They all deserve to die!
I will wipe them all out! Not a single one of them left standing.
[Karma has reached -120]
[Chaos stage has reached stage 2]
[Too much Negative Karma for Chaos Stage 2]
[The Chaos Energy will start to affect your soul directly]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Soul Armour has reached MAX level]
[Would you like to use the excess skill levels to modify the skill in your own unique way?]
Huh? Huh?
What’s this?
<<-ar me?>>
Eh?
<<-an… u… ea… m… !?>
What’s that sound?
<<Can yo… ear…!?>>
That sounds familiar. I know that voice. That’s the, um, the, huh?
<<Can you hear me!?>>
Eh? Agent?
<<Yes, you can finally hear me.>>
Well, of course I can. You’re literally in my head. How wouldn’t I be able to hear you?
<<You haven’t been for the past half an hour>>
Huh? It’s been only a couple of seconds since I…
As light entered my eyes once again, I was baffled by the scene before me.
I was in a room, much like the dungeon master’s room from the [Forbidden Dungeon], back in Larm. My claws were mere inches away from the half-broken face of the little girl that shot me earlier on. Underneath the cracks, all I could see were metal and broken wires.
The majority of her body was surrounded by thick cables, like she’d fused with them. She herself hang lifelessly before me, with her face dishevelled and her hair messy.
“Come to think of it, she looks like a terminator... a weird, tentacle, hentai terminator.”
<<Of course, that’s the first thing you think of>>
“Hey. You were thinking it too.”
I took in the scene around us.
This room was more or less destroyed. There were definitely signs of a fight here, with multiple of my feathers being scattered and tonnes of guns, traps, and other weapons littering the ground. The dents and craters also told another story with all the blood splatters.
I looked down at myself. I was in my phoenix form and wounded from head to toe. My body was healing up, fire covering the wounds, but still, a whole chunk of my stomach was gone.
"What the hell happened?”
<<Post [Evolver] granting you the unique skill [Darwin’s Final Gambit], you converted all the cosmic radiation into chaos energy>>
“Yes, yes. I know that bit. What else?”
<<The drawback of [Evolver] and the chaos energy overloaded your soul. You took your first step into becoming a Chaos Beast>>
Eh? Chaos Beast? Me?
<<Yes>>
Oh… OH!
Oh shit!
So… I did THIS!?
<<Yes>>
Wow.
<<On the bright side. You just completed the dungeon>>
Eh?
Like before, a hologram appeared before us, with the image of a glasses-wearing otaku grinning mischievously.
“Impressive. You cleared my dungeon even though it was altered to specifically combat you. You must be at the very least a demi-god."
Kaleb said, scratching his back.
“Well, you’ve successfully defeated the Forbidden Dungeon, Yellow Springs, and the Fortress of Solitude. Now that you’ve got 8 of the 12 of Zero’s legendary weapons, you’re probably wondering where the other three are. Don’t worry, you’ll see them once this message ends."
I wasn’t really wondering that, but that was good to know, I guess.
“Now, for the cool secret. You see, I’ve been hearing rumours of the members of the New Kyoto Empire trying to seal up the gods since they’ve been causing too much chaos ever since they won the war. Of course, the gods were already sealed in Horizon, but they still have ways to come down. Normally, I’d stay away from such things, but I’ve unfortunately ascended in my [Sacred] and achieved the rank of a [Legendary Hero]. My [Divine Energy] has also become too much for a human body to handle, so I’m being forced to evolve into a [Divinity]. If the New Kyoto Empire succeeds in their plan, that will mean I’ll be trapped in Horizon with those annoying bastards.”
Oh?
“I’ve modified Zero’s 12 weapons to act as a key to the backdoor of Horizon. The moment you acquire all 12, combine them into one. It will open a door to my immediate location in Horizon, and I’ll be able to return to this realm.”
Hm? So Kaleb Zen is still alive?
“Oh yeah, by the way, before this video ends, if you have any interest in Project CATH—the automaton you fought just now..." My gaze shifted to the lifeless doll before me. "There's four more homunculi, although I haven’t given them any artificial souls, so they can’t function. Yurei was the final prototype before I finished my masterpiece. If you show up in the West of Larm with anything from this dungeon, a dryad named Diane will present you with my masterpiece if you’re interested."
Eh? Diane has Kaleb Zen’s ultimate treasure?
“Honestly, I don’t care what you’ll use any of these things for. As long as you’re interested, feel free to do what you want. This is the last time we’re speaking this way. I’m interested in what kind of being you are.”
Oi!
<A/N: “Wow! This story is still alive? Crazy…” Lol, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Have a nice day.>
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