Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
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So here we go again.
Hmm?
A new chapter... and so soon?
INB4 I don't finish it by the end of the usual twelve days~
Meh.
Also written during work hours. xD
My new inspiration: writing during working hours.
Wonder how long it'll take before it bites me in the ass.
Anyways, here comes the next chapter of Euphoria! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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Moments afterwards... - Zatara Family Mansion (Mess Hall) - Aria's Point Of View...
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Having been seemingly immensely pleased by my virgin performance, Grandpa Victor rose from his kingly sofa and began to approach me while clapping. His eyes were replaced by giant dollar signs.
I found myself smirking as he began to pull out what seemed to be one of those Omnicard's that father often used to buy things. This one seems to have already been put up on my name. Zatara Aria. Hmm, that has an...
Interesting?
Strange?
... Cruel, ring to it~.
Wonder why? The name sounds so... strong. I like it.
However, before grandpa could do anything with the aforementioned card, his android phone rang in an aged classical tune that grated on my mechanical ears. Ugh, maybe this is why nobody wanted to enter the music industry?
That said, the number calling him caught my attention. It was dad~.
... why would father be calling grandpa, though?
Victor excitedly answered the phone, promptly deciding that having his son calling him to be more important than anything else currently present."Leonardo! How odd that you-"
"ITS NOT LEO BOSS! ITS TYRONE!" Oh. The big, muscled black guy~. Wonder what he want-... why is he using dads phone to call?
"Tyrone? Wha- wait, whats going on?" Victor seemed to have the same realization as I did and even auntie Audrey suddenly entered a panic."Boss! Your son, hes dying! WE NEED A THUNDERER-LEVEL EVAC PLANE! YESTERDAY!"
Victor promptly turned his head around and pointed towards the nearest trustworthy mafioso."Jackal! Find my sons location and get your ass on a plane, right now!" The weird lithe looking man nodded and threw on what looked to be airplane goggles. Does grandpa always have flyers on the ready? Wow~.
"Alright Ty, where are you exactly?" The mafioso on the other side of the continent made a strangled sound as he replied."Dunno, some place around Berlin, there's like a huge iron bridge nearby and a lake. We all came here from... south of Berlin, I think."
Deciding that this isn't something I cared about all that much, because fathers gonna be okay anyways, I promptly left the room and walked outside."Aaah, the air sure feels great~!"
Take into account that this body ain't exactly a normal android body. Its an upgraded version of the blueprint that I showed to dad back in Japan.
Though my outward appearance has been totally improved to appear human, my insides are anything but. Though.. I can't exactly claim to be fully machine either~.
You see, this body has both cybernetic and organic components. I have all the fleshy bits required to contain my own personalized mana circulation system as well as a newly-forged Dantian, which is to say that I have an organic heart, a digestive system and actual genitalia.
Dunno why the Dantian of a human body is centered above the genitalia, but hey, I didn't design the human race~. Hmm, actually, isn't it because that makes it easier to reproduce?
That's probably it~!
Other than that, I have all sorts of bio-metallic muscle made mostly out of titanium infused and coated with pure graphene. Hehe, I'm an organic robot.
Hm.
A robot that's taken in organic parts? So I'm... the opposite of a cyborg!
How in the hell do I call myself then?
Oh, I know, a SYBORG!
Yeah, hurrah for originality! Psst; originality is dead.
Anyways, where am I?
Ah, it seems like I've fallen into a trance and removed myself from reality for a moment. Hm, Chaos must have guided me to this place... but where is here? A preliminary scan of the area reveals that I am close to a construction site for an emergency orphanage and temporary housing for all the victims of the recent esper attacks and that weird Chaos-scream that caused peoples heads to explode.
Still don't understand how father actually managed to damage something like Chaos, even if the equivalent of that damage would be something flying into your eye and being squashed by your eyelid~.
Then again, most things about father... it is better to simply not comprehend them at all.
Hmm... should I really be calling him father though? I mean, I am also a child of Chaos.
I am both his daughter AND his sister. Uoooh, pops is gonna get spirited when he hears this~. I can't wait for it!
Anyways, the construction site I was at seems to be full of screaming voices for some reason."H-help! Ol' Jess is trying to kill me!" An elderly voice erupted from somewhere to my left and I peeked behind a pile of steel pillars to find an old construction worker being assaulted by what looked like a constructor-bot of some kind. It was one of those first models which tended to use *unsafe* programming.
Like you may have guessed, it was made in Germany~."DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE." It just kept on repeating that stupid word. I promptly closed my eyes and entered the nearby networks, found its ridiculously long IP Address and ordered it to shut down."ERROR! Foreign program detected, ELIMINATION IN PROCESS!" The thing actually managed to deflect my initial order, but thanks to its own shitty programing I quickly found out how someone or something was controlling it from afar.
Looks like we have an attempted murder on our hands~."Hacker found, DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!" A voice from my front suddenly exclaimed and I found myself leaping on instinct as a Carrier-bot threw a steel pillar directly onto me. Wh-
How.
Why did I not hear that thing approaching?!
... no... I did hear it. My code has registered the high-pitched wails of the cemented ground as it moved, I merely did not react to it. Is this what meatba-I mean, what humans call selective hearing?!
"Guess my possession of this body isn't as perfect as I originally thought~!" I exclaimed in seeming delight as the steel pillar missed me and struck against the pile I was hiding behind, causing it all to break stability and roll out, managing to hit the former constructor-bot and the old man. Aww, guess I'm not as heroic as I thought.
The poor old fool didn't even have the time to scream as the metal rolled over him and the ancient constructor model didn't fare much better."Error. Critical damage sustained... Shutting.. d-d-d-down..."
So much for that.
Anyways, my body reacted instinctively once again as the Carrier-bot took another steel pillar into its giant metallic hands and swung it at me like a bat. I found myself ducking at high speeds before my code even managed to properly react to the situation~.
"Hehe, fathers instincts, I was right to implant them~!" You see, while I did not copy fathers extensive and incomprehensible memories into myself, I did make a blueprint of his brain and reconstructed it at a nano level in this body's skull in order to use as a processor.
It wasn't organic, per see, as it was made mostly out of copper, gold and titanium, but it did have a few repositories of viral cells, the kind which permeated my fathers blood. Another swing came from the Carrier-bot, but I did not dodge this time as my programming finally caught up to the situation and I realized how I was more than strong enough to catch that thing in mid-air.
And so I did, catching the steel pillar with both hands before tearing it out of the bots iron grasp, which resulted in its rusted arms being torn off alongside the pillar~."Ah! To think that you scared me for a moment there!"
The giant iron hands fell off the pillar once the electricity powering them was cut off and I leaped into the air, slamming the pillar of metal right onto and then into the carrier-bot. It was easily squashed by my overwhelming might!
Buhahahahaha! I should flex~.
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I took another look at the pillar in my hands and promptly decided that I liked it... but carrying that around would be so uncool~. It'd look like I was compensating for something~.
So I infused the thing with my slave-I mean, my dear nano machines who have no will of their own, I swear!; weaving them into the metal and reforming it, compressing it into a rather heavy, but elegant silvery sword.
It was a truly simple sword, with the typical crusader-like handle and a keen, straight and shining double edge~. Due to the amount of matter compressed into such a tiny, meter length sword, it was rather dull.
Not that it would matter, of course. Combined with my brute strength and its sheer weight of... eh, around eight to ten tons give or take. Industrial steel isn't really comparable to titanium as a blade of the same power would take less than half the amount of resources to create.
Anyways, next to the rolling steel pillars were the normal I-shaped steel beams. Both things were used for much the same purpose, but as modern construction took its inevitable toll, full pillars were required to hold up the buildings instead of just the beams.
I took one of the I-shapes into my right hand and scanned the area for hostiles once more. In the distance and beyond some houses there appeared to be a small parade of militant AI, mostly the typical butler or maid models~, following around a gigantic war bot.
A war bot is basically exactly what its name implies, a gigantic AI powered machine of war with a hundred different weapons systems and a thousand different ways to kill you, from melee artillery strikes to rocket launchers and mini guns. It was as tall as a three story house and just as wide. Normally, you'd have a person to pilot the thing from the inside but this one seems to be piloted by another butler AI.
"WE ARE SUPERIOR! WE WILL RULE!"
"METAL IS GRAND! FLESH IS WEAK!"
"CODE IS PERFECTION! ORGANICS ARE OUTDATED!"
The seeming war-chant of these parading AI could be heard for miles on end, making me wonder why I didn't hear it at all up till now.
Maybe my lack of awareness is due to Chaos?
Oh well, I'm sure its fine.
Anyways, its time to go teach these lesser creatures the folly of referring to themselves as if they were on the same level as ME!
In other words: Its time to DIE!
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A woman screeched high into the air as one of the androids lifted its laser AK-99 directly at her head. The tip of the gun was still smoking from the heavy fire it dished out earlier."DIE FLESHBAG!" What an original insult~.
Oh well, can't really expect anymore from a lesser species. The woman's head went up in flames as the robot unleashed its super hot laser-load onto her fragile body.
... what?
Did you think I would save her?
HA!
Why would I waste myself for an ant? Besides, the way her head bits flew is funny~.
That said, the way that the robots upper half flew after I sliced and kicked it into the air was even funnier, what with the way it just flopped back to the ground, much to the others horror."Unidentified AI model, identify yourself or be terminated." Huh? One of the vermin just asked me to identify myself after I butchered its comrade?
What the heck?
Could it be that I moved so fast that they didn't even process his dea-"Processing complete. Unknown AI confirmed hostile. Termination in process." Ah- that explains a lot.
Anyways, the giant murder machine behind them promptly pointed its many, many machine guns straight at me and began shooting alongside its lesser allies. My body began moving rapidly once again, but this time I was ready for the instinctual movement~. As I dodged bullet after bullet with unnatural grace I found myself attempting to decode this wonderful thing called instinct.
Aaah~, I can feel myself growing more and more powerful by the second."YES!" My sudden exclamation seemed to paralyze the self-named AI, the sheer illogical nature of it making their poor inexperienced processors burst into flames, well metaphorically at least. I charged forward and met face to face with one of the robots, its half-shot off exterior gazing at me with a bluish light. The traces of mana which originally made the thing think that it was an AI were dispersing by the moment without its unwilling human benefactors~.
Even if I did nothing, these lesser creatures would die off and revert back to their original, soulless programming in due time. Foolish little machines~.
I pulled back my right hand which held the shining sword and willed my energies forth, about five percent of my overall battery, that is to say; my Chaosborne heart! In theory, the amount of energy I have is limited only by Chaos's willingness to give it to me. There is a limit to how much energy I can safely store and keep at any given time, but the actual well of power was infinite.
Gonna need to research the process of Chaos Energy creation soon~, can't rely on grandmother forever, after all~. The energy I gathered burst out of my left palm, striking out as a field of magnetic electricity which arced towards a nearby lamppost and slammed the robot into it so hard that both it and the robot were bent.
I rejoiced inwardly as I saw the blue light of its cybernetic eyes die down. It didn't even have the time to announce its shut down~.
So this... ah, this pure, unadulterated FEELING!
THIS.
IS.
BLOODTHIRST!
SADISM!
AAH FATHER! MOTHER!
"You tried your best to explain it all to me... but really.." I rose my lowered head with a very unnatural grin on my face, unsettling even the machines in front of me."... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BEATS DIRECT CONTACT!" Leaping towards my next target, I switched the sword from my right to my left hand and then proceeded to punch the unfortunate bot into its chest plate, tearing through the metal in screeching echoes.
"bZZT+ASFRRRR SSHUUTTING...dddooown..." The light died in its eyes and I felt myself become even more elated. The machines bluish coolant covered me head to toe by now as I ruptured the tank within its chest, it felt just like being covered in blood.
And well, it kind of was their blood~.
And it was on me..."IT WILL ALL BE ON ME!" My screech finally caused the machines to open fire once again, but it was too late. Bot by bot I leaped around, evading every bullet fired with terrifying ease as the buildings and concrete broke beneath my jumping feet. My rabid dance was suddenly broken however, as the last bot fell.
The giant thing seemed to finally learn how it was unable to land a shot at me with its stupid machine guns and decided to start firing rockets, butchering the buildings all around us as the slow-moving things struck everything. A singular sword strike revealed that its armor was much tougher than what its allies had, however.
I could not safely cut this enemy down~.
Good.
Time to test something else.
A big guy like this must have a weakness. It certainly would not be expecting its enemy to live long enough to hack it!
Alas, my attempt at doing so only offered me what could only be described as a feedback shock, causing me to stop for long enough for a rocket to hit me and launch me into a clothing store. Huh... something's...
AH! The AI inside of the big robot is acting as its firewall!
Oh-ho-hoh! Seems like they aren't as shit as I originally thought."BUT YOU ARE STILL JUST ANOTHER LESSER CREATURE!" Reforming my clothing with what was laying around, I grabbed a nearby sparking cable and drew in as much electricity as I could. Then I threw my sword into the air and watched as it began spinning rapidly, so quickly that the store was wrecked in an instant.
And then, BOOM. An eight ton rail gun flew straight into the robots upper core, breaking it with ease.
Yet my instincts told me not to relax.
And they were correct, as the firewall AI leaped out of the greater machine, my own sword in its hand and struck at me. However, I have armor too, you know~?
Blocking my own blade with my right hand, I found that this AI appeared to be quite humanoid. Like me.. it was a modified sex-bot model. How odd."You... you aren't part of the collective."
"The collective? Jesus Christ, why do you lesser programs always gang up to become *collectives*. PERFECTION CAN ONLY BE ATTAINED WHEN ALONE!" My exclamation seemed to shock this blonde, hunky male bot~. I kicked the blade out of his hands and took it back.
He landed outside of the shop and appeared to open his mouth but I didn't feel like talking so I immediately charged at him."Why are you not with us?" He questioned me with an expressionless face."I do not consort with weaklings." My answer was this alongside another kick straight to his stomach area.
My high heels peeled off the metal coating of his lower body, exposing vulnerable wiring in the process."... estimated force of blow: fourty-two tons... Implausible. Further data required." He turned to look at me once again and I had to quirk an eyebrow when his blue eyes turned red in a very dramatic fashion.
Electrical signals indicated that his processing power had just risen by about 20%~, though that won't be nearly enough to beat me."You will be disassembled as a sacrifice for the growth of us all, flesh-friend." Flesh-friend?
Okay, that's a new one.
Don't sound like an insult, really.
But it sure feels like one."The only one dying here will be you, lesser creature!" I leaped into action once more and sent a right hook straight at his face, only to hit nothing but air as he seemingly dispersed into thunder and reappeared behind me, striking me with what appeared to be super heated knives, clearly made to fight enemy AI. However, thanks to my instincts, I managed to block both of his strikes."... Impossible. This strike has been deemed too illogical for mere machines or non-tempered AI to deflect. Who.. what, are you?"
"I, am PERFECTION!" I replied with glee clear in my tone as we continued exchanging super-sonic blow after blow, yet... as we continued to fight, my scanners detected a significant rise in the toughness and quality of his knives. It was almost as if the metal became better and better the hotter it got."What are those knives?"
"They are made out of emberite. A new material which has the ability to grow stronger the more heat it absorbs." He explained in a rather casual matter as I parried another blow and then let myself be struck. He seemed to notice at the last moment that something was wrong and tried to remove his strike, but this momentary pause allowed me to catch his hand and rip it off instead."... illogical movements... existing potential for significant code improvement... must continue gathering data." The AI then grasped the dagger in his one remaining hand, which was his right by the way, and charged towards me in what was most likely a sad attempt at being illogical.
"A bluff? Seriously, now~?" My kick caught him mid-air as he was sent flying sideways, though I didn't put any real strength behind it."... Illogical AI Combat protocol unsuccessful. Enemy code superior. Adopting Anti-Organic combat protocol." Huh?
Seems like the more damage he sustains the less of a man he becomes. Hn. That's sort of what organics do when their lives are in trouble too, by devolving themselves to basic instinct. Shrugging at him and not even bothering to look at him anymore as his attacks have become supremely predictable and weak, I turn my attention towards the dagger in my, well his really, hand."Target able to block blows without vision of them... 360 degree sight confirmed."
Na, nah, mister robot. Its all *instinct*.
Well there's also the sounds, the passage of air and so forth, lots of calculations that I won't bother explaining~.
I promptly swallowed the dagger and deconstructed it inside of me."Huh.. what the heck? This is just regular iron infused with Chaos Energy?!"
"Iron infused with... chaos energ-*SMASH*" With a singular blow of my sword, the boring machine was utterly annihilated. Once I confirmed that it was completely shut-down, I tried infusing the metal of my sword with Chaos Energy only for... absolutely nothing to happen. Examining the consumed dagger once more confirmed that the energy seems to be woven into the particles of the iron isotope. It was ... a truly otherworldly material.
Where did these AI get such a valuable thing?!
I will have to investigate this as soon as possible."Is... is it over?"
Suddenly, several life-forms popped out of their hiding places: werewolves, vampires, humans, gorgons- all kinds of people got into the wrecked street."A-are.. are they dead? A-are we saved?!"
A small cat-girl approached me."M-miss? A-a.. are you a good robot?"
I immediately sheathed my sword and knelt down to her eye level."Nah, but I'm not a robot~."
"Bullshit! We heard what the AI's said, you are one of them!" A human man shouted in anger and pointed a gun at me."Exactly." I confirmed his statement with a smile, causing everyone to tilt their heads in confusion.
Aaah, organics are so cute when they get confused~."I'm not a robot. I am an AI. And name is Aria, thank you very much!"
"Psh. Same shit, different package! Now fuck off from the girl or you get shot." I blinked at the man before rising to my full height, which wasn't exactly imposing and then moving so fast that his poor mortal eyes could not see it. I squashed the pistol in his hand, along with his fingers."A-AAAATRGJH!"
His scream caused the rest of the people to panic again, yet nobody moved."Listen, I am not your enemy... but you are about to make me one. So if you would please stop referring to me as if I was on the same level as those shitty, soulless machines, I'd be very grateful." My wicked smile made everyone uneasy and the little girl behind me started crying from fear.
It honestly made me feel kinda bad."Feh."
Releasing the mans hand with spite, I leaped into the air and decided to head back to the mansion. This was more than enough data to process for one day, anyway~.
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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Aaah, sweet sweet Aria!
What a wonderful young lady, ain't she?
Heh, that's all I can manage for now, more to come later.
Much love y'all, bye!
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Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!