Last Chance

A line of Akhronnan soldiers stood in the middle of the road, armed with spears and geared with armor, and accompanied by wagons with monsters. Master Croghan and I landed by griffin next to their formation and let their captain come and greet us. The griffin just dropped me to the ground as we neared the ground, while Master Croghan levitated off from it.

“Master Croghan,” said the captain, bowing with a salute. “I am Captain Reginald. I am commanding these units in preparation for this siege. I trust you brought the gate-breaker?”

The captain eyed the fortress at the end of the road. It was heavily fortified, with walls several meters thick, and garrisoned with a combination of monsters, golems, and soldiers, as well as mounted cannons and ballistas.

Entrance was a problem of its own as well. It was a full-on gatehouse, defended by two gates of magically reinforced steel.

“We will break it,” said Master Croghan, landing on the grass. “Behold, my ReConstruct. Point it to any direction you want, and it will open the path.”

Captain Reginald stared at me with awe as I stood up from the ground.

“This golem isn’t location-bound?” he said.

“I AM NO GOLEM,” I responded. “I AM NUMBER BS-8. POINT ME TO THE ENEMY.”

The captain squinted his eyes at mine, thinking.

“Good enough for me,” he said. “See that gate? Bust it open. We are going to…”

Before he could finish his sentence, I was already in the middle of the road, planting my feet to the ground, and ready to charge.

“Carry this!” Captain Reginald said. “You will need the cargo.”

He and his men fasted a large crate unto my back. Whatever it was, I did not know, and I did not care.

“Destroy it, Number BS-8,” said Master Croghan. “That is an order! Go!”

I ran towards the fortress gate. Following me were horses pulling on large cages. As we approached, the Ranolkian soldiers unleashed their own defenses from the watchtowers.

“Open fire!” they said.

Their cannons and ballistas unleashed their rounds towards us.

Master Croghan slammed the ground with his staff.

“I can’t let you do that,” he said.

The wind struck with a world-shaking gale, knocking the arrows and cannonballs away from their course.

“Use the anti-magic rounds!” shouted the enemy.

They loaded a fresh batch of rune-carved ammunitions into the cannons and opened fire.

One struck me.

It tore a large chunk out from my right shoulder, but it did not stop me. I charged the runes in my soles with mana and let them bolster me through for that final sprint. I braced for the impact and rushed to the gates.

“Take cover!” the enemy shouted.

My whole body was energized by red-glowing runes. I burst through both gates with one single dash, breaking through their steel, and entering the fortress proper.

“A breach!” the Ranolkians shouted. “Send the sylphs!”

The Akhronnan forces behind me came closing in, ready with soldiers, and cages filled with monsters.

Ranolkian soldiers took no time to surround me. However, they did not strike me. Not with spears, nor with magic.

“What the hell is that?” said one. “Why do I feel the rebound effect when trying to attack it?!”

Some dared lunging forward, wanting to strike me with their war hammer, but were pulled back by the force of divine providence.

The crate on my back rattled.

Monsters burst out from it, leaping towards the soldiers before me. They were jelly-like creatures, easily about as large as a large dog each, and had red crystal core at its center.

“Slimes!” said the soldiers.

They fended off those they could, striking at their cores with their spears to kill them, but that was a mere distraction. It was just to borrow time.

Their sylphs released from their cages, flying off to the sky, and joining to come and swarm me. They were pure green, and almost angel-like, but made of a singular, uniform substance. They attacked with wind magic, slashing and blasting at my body from the distance.

Without the reach of speed to attack them back, I simply defended, guarding against their attacks until help came my way.

“That is quite enough,” said Master Croghan. “We are taking it from here.”

They arrived.

The Akhronnan forces arrowed down the sylphs and let their slimes overtake the soldiers by the entrance path. The slimes consumed them, digesting them as soon as they could ensnare them within their bodies, and leaving only their metal armor and weapons behind.

“Go, Number BS-8,” said Master Croghan. “This is only the castle town. We have yet to breach the castle itself.”

“… TOWN?” I said.

I looked up.

This place was not only a fortress. There was a town within these walls as well. The slimes not only devoured the enemy soldiers, but they also went after the villagers as well. They attacked without mercy, barging into homes and devouring their inhabitants whole without thought.

I walked forward with horror, trying to take all of this in.

This was a massacre.

Green returned to my eyes.

“Stop it, Croghan!” I said, turning towards the Master.

“Hmm? Stop what?” he responded.

He was standing by the gatehouse still. There was not a hint of remorse in him.

“You are going after civilians too!” I said. “This is monstrous! Make them stop this instant!”

Master Croghan scoffed.

“Ah, so you broke from my hypnosis,” he said. “Human souls are so difficult to do this with… ah, no matter. What are you going to do, Number BS-8? There is still a castle to breach.”

“Call off the monsters,” I said. “Stop them… or I will stop you.”

I clenched my fists, trying to prepare myself for what seemed inevitable.

“Oh?” said the Master. “So, one moment you are so scorning of killing humans, and in the next, you forget that rule. What a creed. One so flexible you can forget it when it is convenient.”

I walked towards Master Croghan.

“I have limits,” I said. “I will not help you killing civilians. No amount of hypnosis will stop me from stopping you, you rotting old man!”

“We’re not in Earth anymore, Number BS-8,” said Master Croghan. “What, do you think that countries were built with people shaking hands? With kind words and thoughts? No! They were built with carnage and slaughter, ever since medieval times, and this world is as medieval as it can be. In a thousand years, this moment will not even be a footnote in history.”

“I don’t care. These people are alive right now… I don’t care where or when they were born, they are still just as a person as you or I!”

Master Croghan cackled.

“Interesting,” he said, “so this pile of rocks still thinks it is a person.”

I charged towards him.

“This fool!” said Master Croghan.

He swung about his staff and aimed its tip towards me. He was human. He was bound by the rebound effect. If those soldiers could not attack me, then…

“Soul Tearer!” chanted the Master.

A blast of dark energy pierced into my body. It did not damage my stone plates, nor even the runes. And yet, a tremendous pain surged into me. I felt my consciousness dissipating, spreading all across the air.

I saw myself leaving my stone body. I was torn out from it.

It should have been impossible. The rebound effect should have stopped him or at least make him wince with pain. Sybille went bedridden just wounding a manaclast. I am not something so different from it. Then, why…

“It is a shame that it came to this, Number BS-8,” said Master Croghan. “You were a promising build. It looks like I will need to scrap you, just like all the failed models I had made.”

My stone body fell down to the ground.

“The next one will not be so sentimental,” added the Master.

Such coldness. Ruthlessness. This complete disregard for human life.

It dawned on me.

The Master, he was…