"L-Leon, what is that...?" Rose asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"It's an automata," I told her.
Truthfully, this was the first ti I'd seen sothing like this, but given that Scarlet — who was a cyborg — existed, I suppose seeing a tallic body wasn't entirely unheard of.
Still... Scarlet seed to be from another world. I hadn't asked her much about her origins since she was always away, but now, seeing sothing like this... it was honestly shocking.
It not only caught off guard — it shook to my core. Maybe a cyborg like Scarlet wouldn't surprise as much anymore, especially since this world had things like guns, but... how could sothing like this exist here?
In a world governed by swords and magic... in a world where technological advancent was barely past the basics... sothing like this simply shouldn't exist.
No... perhaps it could. The possibility wasn't impossible — not when portals existed that connected to other worlds. If beings from other realms could pass through... then maybe sothing like this automata had done the sa.
The real question was... which world had this person — no, this robotic woman — co from?
Calling her a robot felt like an oversimplification, especially with how lifelike her appearance was. Her skin was incredibly realistic — too realistic. If not for those unsettling tallic eyes, I wouldn't have been able to tell she was anything other than human.
Her movents were flawless, fluid, and natural — not the stiff, chanical motions you'd expect from a machine. This was... a perfect automata.
How sothing like this could exist in this world was a mystery — one I wouldn't be able to solve unless I got past her.
"An automata? Is it... a person?" Rose asked hesitantly.
"It's possible," I replied.
I couldn't be sure if there was a human controlling it or if it was acting on its own. There was also the possibility that it was a cyborg — soone like Scarlet. The skin was just too lifelike, and if not for those unnatural eyes, I would've mistaken her for a person entirely.
"Can you defeat it?"
"That's no problem," I assured her.
I reached out and called forth Ayuru. The blade erged from the space between my palm, and I closed my fingers tightly around the hilt.
As soon as I summoned Ayuru, the automata's head snapped toward with unnerving speed — so fast that it felt unnatural, almost inhuman.
Her cold, tallic gaze locked onto Ayuru, and a mont later, she shifted into a fighting stance. Her arm shot outward, palm open and steady.
I had no idea what she was preparing to do... until her palm began to shift. With a sharp tallic click, her hand transford — folding and twisting until her forearm opened to reveal a hollow cavity.
No... not just a cavity — an...
...artillery cannon.
A low hum vibrated through the air as light began to swirl inside the hollow chamber, flickering and twisting like a miniature sun being compressed into a single point. The energy surged violently, crackling with power as it gathered strength.
She's about to fire.
The blast erupted from her arm in a searing beam of light, tearing through the air with a deafening shriek. Instinct kicked in — I activated Guardian, and a shimring do of mana enveloped us just in ti. The beam struck the barrier head-on, detonating with a thunderous explosion.
The force slamd into the do's walls, rippling violently as the shockwave tried to push outward. Cracks splintered across the ground beneath us, and chunks of stone crumbled from the ceiling above. Dust filled the air, choking my breath.
If that blast had hit without the barrier... the entire dungeon would have collapsed on top of us.
"Don't you think trying to blow us up inside a dungeon is going a bit too far?" I called out, narrowing my eyes at her.
The automata didn't answer. She remained motionless for a mont, her glowing eyes fixated on with cold precision. Then, her cannon-arm shifted back into a normal hand with a tallic clank. Without a word, she stepped forward — slow, deliberate, yet utterly confident.
I tightened my grip on Ayuru.
"Stay back," I warned Rose.
The automata's gaze flickered toward Rose for a brief second before returning to . The air seed to thicken even more, mana swirling like an invisible storm.
She's not finished.
Her fingers flexed, and the seams along her arm began to shift again. The mont her hand twitched, I lunged forward, slashing with Ayuru before she could fire again.
Our blades t — or rather, her arm beca a blade, extending into a gleaming edge of steel that clashed against Ayuru with a sharp screech. Sparks erupted from the impact, illuminating her face in a harsh glow.
Her strength was... overwhelming. The sheer force behind her strike nearly made my arms buckle.
Damn... she's strong.
I gritted my teeth and pushed back, forcing her arm away just enough to break free from the lock. Without hesitation, I leapt back to gain so distance.
"Leon... she's fast!" Rose warned from behind.
I knew that already. Her movents weren't just fast — they were precise, calculated, like she could predict what I was going to do before I did it.
The automata's gaze locked onto Ayuru once again, her eyes narrowing slightly — as if recognizing the weapon itself.
Before I could think further, her arm shifted again — the blade folding back as her palm twisted open once more.
Another cannon shot...!
"Rose! Stay back!" I barked, raising Ayuru as the automata's arm began to glow.
This ti... I had to strike before she could fire.
The automata's arm flared with light, the energy swirling faster — a condensed sphere of mana charging at alarming speed.
I surged forward, Ayuru's blade glowing fiercely as I channeled mana into it. The mont her cannon locked onto , I shifted my body to the side, narrowly dodging the beam as it tore past my shoulder. The searing heat scorched my skin, but I ignored the pain — there was no ti for it.
With a swift step, I closed the gap between us, raising Ayuru high.
I brought my blade crashing down, lightning crackling along Ayuru's edge. Sparks danced violently as my strike connected with her raised arm — her steel limb holding firm under the weight of my attack.
She's durable...!
The automata's glowing eyes flickered as her free hand shot out, her fingers curling into a vicious claw aid straight for my throat.
I twisted away just in ti, her tal fingers grazing my neck — close enough that I felt the cold steel brush my skin. Without wasting a breath, I spun my body and slashed across her side.
CLANG!
The sound of tal on tal rang out, but this ti, I felt Ayuru's blade sink in. A gash tore through her side, faint sparks flickering from the exposed wires beneath her artificial skin.
For the first ti, the automata staggered slightly.
"Leon!" Rose cried out.
I barely turned before her arm morphed again — this ti into a jagged spike that shot straight for my chest.
I raised Ayuru at the last second, deflecting the strike just enough for the blade to graze past my ribs instead. Pain flared across my side, and warm blood trickled down my skin.
"Guardian!"
I roared, forcing mana into my barrier once again. The do flickered into place, but the automata was relentless — she launched another blast from her arm cannon before my barrier could fully stabilize.
The beam slamd into the half-ford barrier — cracks instantly spreading across its surface like fractured glass.
"She could even damage Guardian...?!" I hissed, gritting my teeth.
The barrier shattered in a burst of energy, forcing back. My legs wobbled, my breath ragged. Blood seeped from my side, staining my clothes.
The automata stepped forward once more, her expression cold and chanical — like death itself advancing with unrelenting precision. Her arm shifted back into its blade form, gleaming under the dungeon's dim light.
"Rose...!" I called out. "Use your fire magic! Hit her from the side!"
Rose hesitated for a mont before raising her hand.
"Raaaaaaah!"
A spear of roaring flas shot from her palm, hurtling toward the automata's exposed side — the gash I'd managed to leave earlier.
The automata turned, her glowing eyes flashing as her blade shifted to deflect the spell — and that was my opening.
I dashed forward, Ayuru humming in my grip as I poured everything I had into one final strike.
The blade ignited with crackling lightning, and I drove it deep into her exposed side. Sparks erupted as Ayuru's edge tore through her fra, digging into her core.
The automata's glowing eyes flickered — her body twitching violently as arcs of lightning surged through her tallic form.
"Must... eliminate..." her distorted voice crackled. "Protect... portal... must... eliminate..."
"Raaaaaaaahhhhhh!" I shouted, forcing Ayuru deeper.
The lightning intensified — her body jerking and convulsing as smoke rose from her fra. Her arm flailed weakly, her energy cannon flickering before finally sputtering out.
With a final surge of power, Ayuru's blade tore through her core completely — and the automata's glowing eyes dimd into cold, lifeless orbs.
She staggered once... twice... before finally collapsing to her knees. The tallic clang of her body hitting the stone floor echoed through the dungeon.
I stood there, panting heavily, my grip still tight on Ayuru's hilt. Blood trickled from my side, soaking into my clothes, but I barely noticed it.
"You... okay?" Rose asked, rushing to my side.
I nodded. "Yeah... but..." I glanced down at the fallen automata. "Did you hear what she said?"
"Protect... portal..."
"...There's sothing deeper in this dungeon," I muttered. "And whatever it is... she was willing to die to protect it."
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