“Lord Ai… I see several ships in front of us.” Rito reported over the intercom inside the bridge. The sound echoed throughout the glass-less submarine. Sonar pings and other machinery were common in the background but that is just about it. The entire trip was just pure machinery noise although quieter than most submarine counterparts back in my world.
“Rito, surface just about 10 meters below the waves, show me your visual inside your bridge.” A widescreen quickly constructs itself right at the walls of the bridge. The entire command deck is completely barren of any instruments one would usually see in a sub. I don’t know if I subconsciously designed Rito to be extremely efficient like this or Funena did. Considering Rito being Funena Class submarine, it's probably the latter that designed him. I have instruments in my bridge and they are always there physically available for inputs or any overrides. It would be extremely annoying for anyone to manually control me from the inside. Funena’s design is something else I could maybe upgrade in me next time.
On the screen, I only see about 12 ships scattered across the area, each looking in a different direction. Mist also filled the afternoon sky above the waves, reducing the visual range of Rito. Mist? Shouldn’t we be out from the Siren’s Mist by now? Visibility was not that bad considering the mist is covering the entire sea in our heading.
“BOOM” A screech suddenly reached us and loudly hit the waves beside Rito. The entire submarine rattles and the sound of machinery react violently but not too much. Just like Kyushi, Rito had ambient lights that indicate emotion and the alert level to the supposed crew of this submarine. They seem to be present in every Aineuran Black Angel Industries tech. With just us living machines and structures in this fallen demon empire, these lights are left to only indicate emotion and right now the lights are flickering yellow.
“...wha… What..was that?!” Rito kept his speed steady into the enemy fleet.
“Lord Ai! A single ship is heading towards our direction.” Rito’s HUD is displayed on the screen and shows the distance between us and the wooden frigates as well as the splash beside the submarine highlighted in a yellow circle. Based on what Rito sees, the enemy ship is around 5,000 meters away from us and closing fast. There is no way they have already seen us coming! I mean… they don’t even know what a submarine looks like? Two more screeches in the air appear to reach our position after a few seconds of trying to see if we are under attack. Those two shots streak past Rito and hit the other ship several meters behind us.
“They… are attacking each other?” Kyushi wakes up alerted from sleep mode after the slightly intense shaking of the submarine and comments on the situation. Confusion lingered in my head as to why the surviving fleet would turn on against each other. Perhaps they are in complete disarray after we terminated the admiral? Admiral Petrel was this world’s hero if I remember. It seems the entire Toratoga Fleet is simply too reliant on their hero alone. Of course, why wouldn’t they give their absolute obedience to a hero that took on the demon lord?
Another ship opened fire on the first one that tried to hit the ship behind us, and another one hit the former. This convenient friendly fire went on until all ships were just completely shooting at each other randomly. I see on the screen individual banners and flags that are slowly being hoisted up from their decks. Pirates will be pirates, trying to gain the upper hand on each other.
“They seem to be in complete disarray. Continue your course Rito until you see land or a tower.”
“About that Lord Ai… I can already see it from here.” The viewscreen in Rito zooms in straight toward the horizon in front of us. The mist slowly clears out, revealing a distant tower and some city buildings right under it. The city had walls of wood and stone placed around it. The entire beaches and shores were saturated with wooden docks and small fishing boats. The entire city feels like it was entirely made as a shipyard rather than a city. Some of the buildings are on the cliffs and a castle is overlooking the entire city. That is definitely where the Petrel resided, a castle just right at the base of the 7th tower.
“Is that… me? No… that just looks like me?” The tower looks… extremely similar to Kyushi albeit different in shape and exterior design. The tower’s color was still black in most of its design but was painted with blue markings instead of the usual red color we have. It is a lot smaller than Kyushi in tower form with more striking circular shapes around the top.
“We need to check that tower from the inside, Mother! Whoever they may be created as the tower might still be in sleep mode.” Kyushi turns towards me and tries to pull my coat, reaching like a little girl wanting to buy something she wants.
“Soon enough, Kyushi. We must first get into the city and pose as adventurers there to reach that tower undetected.” Stealth technology is something we do not have yet at least and this is the only way I could think of to infiltrate Toratoga and also finally fulfilling my desire to become an adventurer while I’m at it!
Rito closes in towards the docks on the edge of the city just outside the reach of any lurking eyes. Several docked ships and boats cover the approach of the submarine as it slowly breaks the waves. Rito surfaces just the top of his head or the protruding bridge of his submarine self just behind a docked ship. As the top hatch opens, Kyushi and I make our way up the ladder. We can’t really just jump up as Rito’s interiors are too cramped. Fortunately for us, that one ship was currently in a dry dock for repairs it seems. There were people at the shore entrance of the city in the middle but they were all too busy to spot a black platform surface from the waves outside the city. Everyone seems to be in a panic over there, and I don’t blame them for being since they just lost almost their entire fleet back there.
“Rito, stay under the waves outside Toratoga as we go in and try to find information in the 7th tower. You could be our only escape away from here in case something comes up so try not to attract any unwanted attention, okay?” Rito closes his top hatch and slowly descends into the waves.
“...yes! Lord Ai. I’ll do my best.” The water breaks on the surface, leaving a trail of bubbles and waves as Rito slowly disappears.
“If we are trying to collect information about what caused the downfall of the Aineuran Empire 3000 years ago, shouldn’t we just raze this city to the ground and take their leaders for questioning? We are still their enemies after all, right, mother?” Kyushi stares at me in confusion as we walk onto the shore and onto the wooden docks.
“It is not that simple, Kyushi. You saw what happened back there and before we arrived here in Toratoga? When the enemy fleet attacked you, your shields were still easily damaged from their cumulative attacks. Your shields are no different from mine as we are made by the same race. This means we are still just vincible machines that could still be damaged when everyone focuses on us. The ships before we arrived were in a power struggle, and possibly in a mutiny already. We can’t just jump in here and attack everyone when they are attacking each other.” No one interrupts two enemies when they are both making a mistake with each other you know?
Besides, I could not just kill everyone in here, any of them could be a reincarnate like me. I may be killing my own family from my past world unknowingly at this point. I need to first check if anyone could be from another world. Civilians are not prime targets for me! That is a war crime! I don’t even know if there are rules of engagement in this world. I just hope I didn’t kill Aya, Eriya, or anyone from another world back there in front of Kyushi.
“I see… So we must be careful not to show that we are machines then?” Our appearances are currently human but our clothing is screaming the colors and insignia of the Aineura Empire.
“Correct, and speaking of showing, let’s check that ship for any clothes that will mask our identity.” Anything that could cover our advance is crucial in this mission.
“There is no need to find, mother.” Kyushi slowly melted down into blue liquid and reconstructed once again with clothing that looks like a dark purplish cloak from somewhere I don’t remember. The striking 'N' symbol looks similar to a staple facing down with cone-ish ends. Something about it seems a bit familiar in terms of its looks. Where did she even get that idea from?
“Ehh? What the hell are you even wearing Kyushi?” I really do not remember seeing this one before. Well, it looked familiar but I completely forgot where it came from.
“It was from the falling vampires I shot down back in the storm, mother! I am already transferring the .rune file of it to you.” A notification appeared in my HUD and showed a “transfer complete” text in the bottom right corner. I melted back down to goo and loaded the file of the disguise.
“Ohh… that’s quite convenient.” Quite convenient indeed but I hope this doesn’t come with a cost. There’s always a cost for everything, including any exploits that may bypass the price. That being the topic, I do not want anyone that was related to those dead vampires’ clothing that we will be using in an espionage mission. Risking myself to see what the enemy is in store for us is the same as making a move with your queen out early, but this is a gambit I am willing to take.
“Thank you, mother! Ehe!" Kyushi goes ecstatic around me and smiles at my gaze. She could be quite immature at some point, and I don't mind it. Really, she is just a child in cold storage that was left alone for herself. No one matures in a room without ever seeing society. Interaction with other people is just as important in one's development. Wow, I may truly become a better parent with Kyushi being this innocent.
Kyushi and I finished at the far reaches of the docks and into a city gate. The docks were separated by this wooden yet intricately designed gate. Pearls, a few gold jewels, and other small treasures fill the exterior. Sure, the idea of showing your riches for the masses to see is crucial for power and fame but, why. Anyone with a better mind would simply take this gate off and steal it. I could even take one gem right now and no one would notice such theft. Hell, the gates are even opened wide! Public unrest is just too powerful that it leaves the city basically defenseless.
"AHGG?!..."My rather subconscious thoughts came to control my right hand and tried to pick one of the gold pieces attached to the gate. A reactive barrier suddenly activated and caught my fingers, making them stationary mid-air. Small, non-lethal pain is not automatically mitigated by my machine-self and it hurts like getting your fingers slammed between a door frame.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"Mother?! Is there something wrong?" Kyushi rushes to my aid and attempts to reach my hand. I pulled out my hand despite the pressure before she could even help me. The metallic mimicry of the human skin can be seen, torn apart on my fingers. It didn't really hurt but if a real hand of flesh and bone were to be pulled from that, consider it mutilated. Thank God or Solvea or the God of the Reincarnation System for not making me reborn as a living being.
"WHHHRRRR" A short screeching of gears and machinery emanated beside me. The look of a tower girl growled, her eyes glowing red and her stance different. Kyushi was about to lunge her fist toward the city gate.
"Wa… Wait… Wait!" I put myself forward and in front of her attack and tried to hold her arm, almost hugging her. Thankfully, I do not see anyone around from this far end of the city so this incident won't be a problem for breaking our cover.
"It is just a gate…Kyushi. Save your strength for something more worthy of attacking other than a freaking door!" Kyushi puts her hand down and an impending crisis was averted. She might be too mentally hurt now considering anyone that would attack or deliberately hurt her ‘mother’ would be a subject for her blacklist. Kyushi has never been so glad to be with her mother together, finally doing anything to protect her. Her tower self was glowing soft red ever since she walked with me on the Funena’s docks. I couldn’t even comprehend how she still had the sanity of thinking her real mother would come back after waiting for so many years. Kyushi looked distressed and her face went deep into melancholy, frowning then looked away from my gaze. She went silent for a bit and I do not blame her for that.
We continued to pass the gates and into the city street. Around the dark corner of an intersection and into the open is a street full of people scattering and in a panic. Everyone seems to be following either their captain that is preparing for their voyage or doing something on their own. Even the locals who are mostly women and children are seen in their windows, left in the stone houses. Soldiers, guards, and other military personnel are marching around as well. All of them seemed to be in a rush to the point we are utterly ignored. I signaled Kyushi to stay close to me as we headed toward the city center. My priorities changed the moment I saw these people in disarray. This chaos is an opportunity for us to head straight into the entrance of the 7th tower without people noticing. Even some markets and fish stands are out of manpower with no one staying behind. Some small children and the poor are already taking advantage of it as I see a few already running away from the stores. Stealing whatever they can amidst the unrest.
I’ll deal with becoming an adventurer later after we extract the 7th tower with us. The opportunity to sneak right in without being discovered is far too great not to take. Hell, we just passed what looks like a guild in this city which was completely devoid of anyone. The doors were open and the reception desk can be seen from the outside. Not even the receptionist is there to guard the place. If we could revive and take the 7th tower with us without a fight, then the mission would be complete. It’ll be simple as a ship hostage rescue back in my world, I could do this with minimal to no casualties.
We arrived at the base of the 7th tower after almost half an hour of walking towards it. Despite its small height, the tower is still too far from the shore. Clouds covered the tip of it but not as much as Kyushi, where even the top becomes too blurry for me to see. The long-dead Petrel still has his castle standing even when the city is in unrest. This castle was far out back from the rest of the city as it is on a cliff of a mountain. Intricate white porcelain walls surround the main citadel at the center as well as the 7th tower behind it. There were around 6 watchtowers that supports the wall’s defense. Banners of the Toratoga Island States are hung over the gate with the same design as the city gate but with different jewelry. This time the gate had some sort of scales around it that gave quite the odor and it smells horrible! I had to turn off my simulation for breathing just to end this smelly misery.
Just as we are outside the gates, the weather above the castle took a drastic turn. The white clouds covered the entirety of the area and the darkness increased. A round bubble-like black screen covered the entire castle afterward. It was too dark that it almost looked like it was nighttime in the middle of the day. Grey figures appeared ever so suddenly around us and two darker ones appear in front of me as the gates opened. They had a dark mist surrounding them and it was hard to see who they were.
“Well… I wonder how long it took for these guys to discover that we are not vampires.” Kyushi says this out loud to me. Maybe in an attempt to intimidate these unknowns around us. Considering we are in enemy territory, I render these unknowns as barely friendly to us. Kyushi turns to stand closer beside me as she faces the two darker figures right in front of me. She was putting herself right between me and the figures. I move closer to her and begin to run the Digital Scan while preparing to construct my pistol on my right hand.
[ Emulated : Appraisal Lvl. 25 - Target: Person]
Target Name: Eura Von Carda
Race: Greater Vampire
Faction: West Cardavenia Empire (7th Tower)
Lvl: 188
HP: 188,000/188,000
ATK: 47,000
DEF: 47,000
MP: 54,000
XP:188,900
State: [ Speed Boost Lvl. 25 ] [ Health Boost Lvl. 25 ] [ True Aim Boost Lvl. 5 ] [ Magic Boost Lvl. 5 ] [ Magic Resistance Lvl 20 ] [ All Stat Boost Lvl. 5]
Titles and Roles: Day Walker | Demon Assimilator | Hero | Hero of the Seventh Tower | Leader of the Elites
MAGIC:
Passive Skills: [ Armor: Lvl. 100 ] [ Speed: Lvl. 188 ] [ Fear: Lvl. 188] [ Rapid Calculation: Lvl. 50 ] [ Reaction Haste: Lvl. 188 ] [ Longevity: Lvl. 100 ] [ Spell Incantation Acceleration: Lvl. 15 ] [ HP Recovery: Lvl. 120 ] [ MP Recovery: Lvl. 165 ] [Self-Heal: Lvl. 10 ] [ Threat Sensory Lvl. 100 ] [ Eye Detection Lvl. 140 ] [ Dagger Mastery Lvl: 180 ] [ Crit Rate Lvl. 60 ] [ Crit Damage Lvl. 150 ] [ Agility Lvl. 150 ]
Instrument Skills: [ Appraisal: Lvl. 75 ] [ Invisibility Lvl. 5 ] [ Cartography Lvl. 10 ] [ Sun Immunity Lvl. 100 ] [ Bat Travel ] [ Swift Message Lvl. 5 ]
Extra Skills: [ Kin Control Lvl. 180 ] [ Vampire Assimilate Lvl. 180 ] [ Persuasion Lvl. 60 ] [ Charm Lvl. 100 ] [ Empty-MP Lvl. 180 ] [ Consume Lvl. 180 ] [ Darkness Control Lvl. 100 ] [ Void Arrow Lvl. 100 ] [ Assassinate Lvl. 170 ]
Special Skills: [ Absolute Tower Control: 7th ] [ Hero's Blessing ] [ Tether Lvl. 1] [ (Demon) Species Forced Converter Lvl. 188 ]
“Ohh. Please. Do not question our skill in espionage and detection! We already know you are here the moment you set foot on the docks.” The darker figure to the right that we are facing speaks loudly and in a deep voice. I could not decipher whether they are a man or a woman.
“The massive presence of pure mana… It is too much for anyone with appraisal or with an affinity for magic to not detect from far distances away.” If that is the case, they are basically telling me that our disguise barely benefited us from the start? I didn’t even think of my pure mana leaking or even radiating from afar, or is this form of detection is purely natural for living being, unlike me and Kyushi who are machines and a freaking structure?
“You are not from any of the tower empires, are you human? You are in audience of Aru von Carda, Hero of the 7th Tower. Ruler and Hero of the West Cardavenia Empire, my sister. Lower your cloaks and speak your name and surrender or we will be forced to deal with you for trespassing on the castle!”
“I am A…?!” Another familiar voice interrupts me in an introduction.
“No one orders mother to do such a thing!” Kyushi steps one of her legs back, crosses her arms rapidly, and immediately creates two revolvers with a similar design to what I have on each hand. What is she doing!? She is too quick for pulling the trigger! Does she know you have to do diplomacy first before failing it then go guns blazing? I have to tell her some rules of engagement once we get back to her on that island she is sitting on.
Two loud bangs from the futuristic-looking revolvers fired rapidly toward the figure that spoke to us. The revolvers were not hindered by the speed of pulling the trigger. Instead, the rotating clip spins close to almost the same speed as the ones she had as defenses for her as a structure. The laser-like travel of the yellow beams toward the figure seemed almost impossible to dodge, but this was not the case. The figure disappeared in an instant, leaving a fast breeze around where they stood.
A loud clang of metals pierced my ears in an instant. The dust settled out and a familiar sight reminded me of my memories. No… this just surprised and startled me a little bit. I am fine. I am fine… I am fine…
The appearance of a legless and headless body of Kyushi is laid on the floor for me to see. Her robotic arms scattered and her torso sparked from cut wire and was leaking of blue liquid that rapidly turned red. Impossible. Kyushi has more HP than me and should be able to withstand such a hit. I tried to run and reach her a few meters away from me but I couldn’t. I simply went down on both of my knees to the ground. What is this… I can’t feel… my head… I can’t…move. My hands… My body is shaking… I kept looking at her, trying to search at the same time in my head, trying to find what could heal her. It reminded me repeatedly of the scene, the chaos that hit the ship before I was killed… I… don’t know what to do.
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! SECURITY WARNING - INTEGRATED SOUL OVERLOADING - SOUL INJECTION DETECTED !
LOADING PROGRAM - DR. 0101101101111-TENEVRIS - HEAD OF !%!425220%lgGGFABvof AND DEVELOPMENT...
AUTOMATIC FORCE CANCELLING INITIATED BY A1 NEURAL NETWORK
( )
“EURA! Wait! Can you feel that? Their pure mana is rapidly rising! These large amounts of pure magic created on one succession. There is only one monstrosity that could achieve too much pure magic beyond what any great hero could achieve from any of the other towers… Could it be?!... Eura! stop! stand down!”