'He's not soone who usually leaves things like that behind.'
It seed to be sothing commissioned from sowhere. In such cases, they usually wanted definitive guarantees. It could be paranoid wealthy individuals, military contractors, or the military itself. That it had flowed to Dr. Sullivan was probably thanks to Daria.
The exposed internal circuitry also made sense. Sullivan must have acquired it for research and was in the middle of taking it apart. Perhaps because he had left hastily without organizing anything, this room was also thick with dust.
Of all people, she had to fight an invention that Cider had personally made. A sigh escaped from her complicated feelings.
At that mont, red light entered the eye parts made of different colored tal. The small gears inside its belly began to turn busily. Its left arm opened and a gun barrel the size of Esperanza's head appeared.
"Huh?"
What's that, a cannon?
While she was flustered, black magical power ford at the gun barrel. Bang! Esperanza quickly rolled to the side to dodge. A pitch-black hole appeared behind where she had been standing just monts before.
Look at that? The speed is considerable.
Basically, automaton movents are slow and stiff. Because calculations take ti. It's a natural result since only simplified calculation circuits were installed instead of analytical engines with hundreds of vacuum tubes and magical power circuits stacked together. But such smooth and fast movent.
It wasn't the first ti she'd seen it. But she hadn't expected to see it in this era, in Dr. Sullivan's research lab of all places. A hollow laugh escaped. Right, if it's Cider Claiborne's invention, it should be capable of this much.
If she had t it in a different place, at a different ti, it would have been an opponent she could have enjoyed strategizing against. But now she didn't feel like it. Esperanza lowered her body and gathered magical power in her gun barrel. It seed better to destroy the left arm first. Bang, bang, short gunfire continued.
The automaton's left arm moved briefly. Just enough movent for the magical bullets aid at its joints to enter the gun barrel.
'It absorbed them.'
Every muscle in her body tensed tightly. That machine seed like it would be a formidable opponent. The next mont, blue magical power ford in the machine's gun barrel, unlike before. Magical bullets burst out with exactly the sa output.
Since she had been prepared for it, dodging wasn't difficult. Esperanza kicked off the ground and jumped up to mount the monster's neck.
'This kind of thing needs to be resolved with close combat.'
She threw the rifle she had been holding into her inventory and drew her sword. It wasn't the thin sword she usually used, but a wide two-handed sword. Though she was wielding it with one hand.
She climbed over to behind the monster's shoulder where its left arm couldn't reach. She stepped on the tal frawork erected instead of a spine and deeply stabbed between parts near the shoulder blade area. The monster didn't move at all.
It doesn't even feel pain.
It was an unpleasant feeling. Not because she was attacking a machine. It was because the longer the battle with the machine went on, the more clearly it beca apparent that all the monsters she had faced so far were living creatures.
She wanted to say it couldn't be helped, but with a body that had enjoyed that slaughter, she couldn't say that. Esperanza bit her lips. There was no leisure to savor such discomfort. She had no choice but to clear it from in front of her as quickly as possible.
She twisted the deeply embedded sword. She felt the internal parts shifting out of place as the space opened. The machine stuttered.
It was the mont she was about to stab deeply again with magical power. The machine arm's joint bent in reverse. Its neck rotated 180 degrees as if riding on rails. Front and back switched instantly.
Esperanza inhaled sharply and quickly separated from the machine. That had been dangerous just now. It would have been impossible if it were a living creature, but the opponent was a machine. Moreover, a machine that Cider had personally made.
'There are no blind spots.'
No, except for the variable of ti. Since there was ti needed for calculations, she had no choice but to resolve it before then.
The gun barrel at the end of the machine arm glowed black again. Esperanza steadied her breathing and gripped her sword tightly. Bang, the mont magical power burst out, she jumped high to close the distance. She stepped on the machine's sturdy arm and shoulder in turn, leaped over its head, and instantly stabbed its nape.
Crack. The blue-glowing sword tip pierced through the steel plate. The head and machine arm rotated smoothly once more.
Esperanza infused more magical power into her sword before the machine could resu its attack and stabbed even deeper. She felt the sensation of precise circuits crumbling. Disrupted magical power flowed up the sword.
The giant machine arm aid at Esperanza and gathered black magical power. Black magical power that seed to absorb light filled her vision.
Almost simultaneously with the magical bullet firing, she felt the deeply embedded sword tip detonate the condensed magical power. Esperanza abandoned the deeply embedded sword and slid her body under the machine arm to dodge. The belatedly exploded magical bullet blew away a corner of the room that had been full of miscellaneous items.
Trendous output even looking at it again. Esperanza slowly increased the distance with her back to the door. The machine turned its head as if tracking the presence of a living person. Red lights blinked near its eyes. Esperanza, who had reflexively gripped a newly drawn sword, hesitated.
"Why won't it stop?"
I definitely broke the magic stone just now, didn't I?
What's going on?
Taking advantage of the confusion, the machine closed the distance. Instead of backing away, Esperanza looked at the machine's belly area, the gears that were still turning perfectly fine. The circuits woven seamlessly like warp and weft threads seed completely unaffected even though she had broken two places.
Even while blocking the roughly swung machine arm with her sword, Esperanza's gaze didn't leave the circuits.
"...Ah."
Looking closely, two identical circuits were overlapped. So that even if one was cut, the other circuit could still operate.
Smoothly rotating gears and calculation speed more than twice as fast as ordinary machines. Other magical engineers might have been moved to tears if they had seen it.
Incredibly solid and intricate structure. Despite being just a machine, it had powerful firepower capable of pushing back Esperanza even montarily, fast calculation speed and smooth movent. It was sad enough to destroy.
But Esperanza had to go find this machine's inventor. She had to confirm he was safe.
Taking a running start and launching her body high to stand on the machine's head, Esperanza aid her gun barrel at the bronze crown. The machine arm aid magical power at Esperanza. Not to be outdone, Esperanza also drew up magical power. Blue magical power blooming from beneath her feet flowed up the golden gun barrel and pooled at the muzzle.
It felt strange to destroy Cider Claiborne's invention with Cider Claiborne's invention.
Magical power too large to gather in the small gun barrel swelled as if it would burst the barrel. Esperanza disregarded this and gathered more magical power. When it reached dangerous levels, the gun rattled as if warning.
And.
Bang!
It was a hair's breadth difference.
Blue magical power so bright it stung the eyes penetrated everything from crown to feet, all the circuits. Her palm tingled. The sensation of magical power being sucked out of her body felt like her soul being extracted.
It was an unpleasant sensation. Destroying a work that Cider would have painstakingly brought to life by fitting each part carefully. It felt like destroying Cider himself.
'This ti it couldn't be helped.'
Esperanza steadied her rough breathing and jumped down from the collapsing machine.
The machine's magical power, which had pulled the trigger a beat late, spurted out like a leak. Esperanza struck down the machine arm where magical power had pooled with her sword to block the leaking magical power.
"Ha..."
Esperanza, who wiped her sweat-soaked nape with the back of her hand, leaned her back against the wall.
[Dungeon boss, '???' has been defeated! Rewards will be deposited.]
3:10.
Esperanza, who had stopped abruptly, bent down and picked up a machine part scattered on the floor. She gripped it so hard it left marks on her hand. Even doing this, she wouldn't be able to take anything when she returned... And the next mont, Esperanza rushed out of the research facility without looking back.
She didn't have ti to think about avoiding others' eyes. There was no ti. With only her face covered by a black hood, she flew over buildings toward the mansion.
"Miss Esperanza? What on earth is that appearance!"
Iron wings on her back. A pitch-black hood covering a lady from head to toe, combat boots. Mrs. Lux was shocked to discover Esperanza who had thrown open the front door with both hands and rushed in. Esperanza ignored her.
"Where's Cider? Where is he?"
"The Count earlier..."
"Esperanza!"
Cordelia ca running out from the reception room.
"I ca to help. We need to go to Augustus Palace right now."
Augustus Palace.
The gears in her head turned slowly. Gradually shing together, then gaining acceleration.
Just as Cider and Esperanza had tried to lure Daria to a place familiar to their side, they had used the sa strategy.
"When did he leave?"
"It's been a little over an hour."
That much ti would have been more than enough for things to be decided. No wait, there's the travel ti from here to the palace... How should she infiltrate the royal palace?
The royal palace had too many people. If she had leisure it would be one thing, but infiltration wasn't a good choice when in such a hurry. Last ti she had entered through the Duchess of Shirebury, but could she use the sa thod this ti? Even if possible, wouldn't it take too much ti?
Cordelia dismissed such worries.
"Don't worry. We can go in our carriage. Grandmother is at the royal palace right now. If we give Grandmother's na, we should be able to enter easily. Co on, hurry. Take that off. Miss Tate!"
Annie brought the clothes she had prepared. There was no ti for proper preparation. Just barely changing clothes took 10 minutes. When Esperanza got into the carriage, Cordelia imdiately followed and closed the door.
"Are you coming with ? It's dangerous."
"Just until we get inside. After dropping you off, I'll stay next to Grandmother, so don't worry. Oh, Lord Avondale told
to show you this. I didn't look at it."
She unfolded a paper that had been folded once. It seed like a hastily written ssage.
Why did he write that last sentence? It made her anxious. But contrary to her grumbling lips, her eyes persistently scanned that sentence.
If we're lucky.
Did luck still remain with him?
The carriage crossed the city. Past the large clock tower, over the parliant building, heading toward Augustus Palace.
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