Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Agreeing with the Voice, Evin spoke.

<From the letter… I guess the only thing we can tell is that it's going to be piloted by a human, and aside from that, there's nothing else. Since it said that the two things are made in the exact same manner, then maybe it's also going to be able to talk?>

From the way Evin so casually talked about this topic, he felt that maybe he doesn't feel so disgusted by the idea of such golems. If he heard about something like this before the Helm's Worthy, he surely would've felt some degree of aversion.

<I'm sure it'll be able to talk and hopefully it'll be able to say something else other than calling you a murderer… Now that I think about it, these humans piloting these golems feels a lot like me, doesn't it? Consciences stuck in a body they don't belong in. I was thinking of putting myself in a golem in the worst case scenario… but now that I imagine it, it doesn't really feel that much different than the current situation.>

<…>

<Ah, it's depressing just to think about. I wonder what kind of crimes they committed to be sentenced to such a punishment,> the Voice murmured. <I guess that the kingdom just decided to use them as test subjects and they got unlucky to be sent here.>

<I guess.>

There wasn't really anything Evin could say at this moment.

<Haah,> it sighed, before changing the topic. <As for its combat capabilities, I'm just guessing it'll be the same as fighting a real person, except that this time, the person's body will be made of metal. I'm sure that if they're cool and awesome like me, they'll have retained some semblance of their sanity; but since they're probably not, I'm betting that they'll be half mad. I don't know how insane mages cast spells, but hopefully it won't deviate too much from the mainstream.>

Evin nodded. <So what's going to be the battle plan? We prod the enemy's capabilities for a bit, before trying to finish it off by closing in like last time?>

The Voice hummed and replied. <Ideally, yes. But we still have to be careful of a few things, like never letting the enemy block our escape path, and trying our best to not get hit by anything too dangerous.>

Evin then let his mana-core rest for a bit, before entering the next room to face the final challenge. Like always, he swiftly opened the door and eyed the room for his enemy, while also putting the layout of the room in his mind. Compared the previous room, which was mostly open, this one had two wide pillars inside it, which looked useful for evading attacks.

But the main difference was with the golem that stood in the center of the room. Outwardly, there wasn't anything different in this once compared to the previous one, but there was a distinct feeling cruelty in its being. Even the room felt stuffy due to the pressure it was emitting.

However, Evin felt confused because its stance was anything but threatening. It seemed even at peace, with its slouched shoulders and its head tilting backwards.

'It's amazing how many different emotions I can feel from this lump of metal,' a random thought appeared in his head.

He expected the Voice to begin its attack on the golem, considering its defenseless state, but no attacks were exchanged between the two sides.

"Ah… More guests have come to pay old me a visit…" an artificial voice sounded from the golem, as it tilted its head towards Evin. "Ah… only one guest this time… Impressive… for you to be able to kill the rat… I'm… a bit sad… Rat as she was, she was still one of my lesser brethren…"

The golem maintained its casual stance, and continued to speak in a slow, unhurried manner. A chill went through Evin's spine.

"Or perhaps she managed to kill your allies? … But that doesn't make sense… Wouldn't you run away from this place… if you've lost your allies? … Or are you being bullied? … Forced to face the odds by yourself? … Ah, mages and the cruelty… I imagined children to be more reserved… but considering the kingdom that educates their mages through blood and violence… It's understandable."

"…"

"I feel terribly bad… Thinking that I must kill you… But please don't hate me for it… I have to do it… They'll kill me if I don't… And you'll kill me if I don't… But it's fine if we talk for a bit… before we get to kill each other… I don't doubt for a moment… that you'll spare me… What names did they call me… to make you kill me? … A serial killer? … A mass murderer? … What? … It's all lies… Don't believe the kingdom's words… I just wanted to see Elainna… My Elainna… Who? … Who's Elainna? I…"

The golem's voice grew more and more agitated.

"No… It's all lies… You'll know it when you see the stories etched on the walls… Have you seen the messages I've written for you? … It depicts my whole story… All the kingdom's lies… All lies… Even the kingdom they speak of isn't real… And everything about Elainna… I'm sure you've read them all… I tried so hard… Even with these metal fingers… It's not easy, you know? … They remove my writings whenever they see it… but I write it all back on it… When I'm writing it down… I remember it all… The winning country of Von… their massacre of the rest of the world…"

A sense of grim reality fell on Evin's heart. All the worries and trepidations he was feeling from when he murdered Byron came up once again as he heard the golem speaking. He was about to kill another person, and he didn't have the luxury to think that it was a spur of the moment. He only wished that the Voice would attack the golem already so he could focus on the fight, and not have to feel like this any longer.

<You know?> the Voice spoke. <Seeing him speak like that… I'm thinking it wouldn't have been so weird if I also ended up like that. A mumbling mess of a creature, who can only speak nonsense endlessly.>

Hearing it, Evin didn't even want to reply.

'Why do you have to make me go through this? Are you trying to make me feel bad for you? Why?'

<Just… make sure you free me, so I don't end up like that, alright?>

<…>

Evin wanted to, but he couldn't immediately make this promise. He knew that even if he had to be dishonest, he had to say something in reply.

A heavy silence fell between the two. But compared to the previous silences that fell between Evin and the Voice, this one seemed more… important, and final.

The golem was still spouting nonsense in the background, but the words stopped registering in Evin's head as he worriedly thought about what just happened. It felt like he messed up something so horribly, that even the golem he was about to fight didn't feel so dangerous anymore.

However, the Voice did not allow Evin the luxury of thinking, aimed its accelerator towards the golem's neck and shot a metal bullet towards it, starting the fight.

Almost immediately, the golem's mutterings stopped and a clanging sound came from inside the room. But its neck wasn't pierced like Evin would have expected it to, instead he could see that the golem had blocked the bullet with its hands.

With a wave of its hands, the golem then created a blue fire inside the room. But it did not direct the fire towards Evin like he expected it to, but instead, just left it burning around itself.

<Cover your face.>

Before Evin could act on the order, the Voice sent huge amounts of oxygen towards the blue fire, immediately setting off an explosion. Evin hurriedly covered his face with his hands, but even then, he could feel the shockwave from the explosion burning off his sleeves. Smoke and dust filled the room, leaving Evin's eyes completely useless.

Sounds of the accelerator shooting bullets could be heard, but Evin couldn't tell whether the enemy was being hurt. But if both sides couldn't see, then what was the Voice shooting at? It definitely wasn't shooting randomly, as Evin could still hear the distinct sound of metal hitting metal, but it felt as if the sound was coming closer and closer.

Abruptly the accelerator stopped shooting, and Evin heard the Voice's Hard Air clashing against something nearby, followed by a loud bang from the accelerator. The next instant, he also heard the sound of water turning into ice, and then the sound of ice shattering immediately after.

Evin felt completely useless in this invisible fight that was happening between the Voice and the golem, with the only thing he could do being to stand in place without bothering anyone. For a brief moment, he could kind of follow what was happening, but a few exchanges later, he became completely clueless.

He was even afraid to ask the Voice what was happening, because he didn't want to interrupt its concentration somehow.