Preparations were well underway to depart from the dungeon. Even the Dungeon Core itself was ready to be transported. It had taken nearly two weeks to get to this point and in all this time there had been not a single report of an adventurer entering the adjacent dungeon. Arrod Dungeon on the other hand still saw plenty of newbies enter the upper levels, clear them and then leave.For Somnus, not much has happened since then. He was working on mechanizing several of the more viable monster types, but in the end, only Baryon and Photon were the successes. In the end, Somnus still had no idea why some monsters could be mechanized and others could not. He also did not know why Hadron had turned from a dead, mindless goblin, into a killing machine that only looked like a goblin on the surface.
However, Somnus had just added a third successful mechanization to the list: Codename Hashmal. It took several tons of magical materials and a workforce of twenty eight skilled goblins and orcs to a.s.sist in completing it. All of the materials were found by Baryon and Photon who were equipped with special spells and had been made Reclaimers. The duo"s function as scouts was only one part of their duties; they were quick, agile, monstrously powerful and best of all, they could dig and mine ore faster than any creature in existence. Above all, they were also capable of processing the ore on-site, as they were resistant to cold and heat, and carry only the processed metal.
Somnus"s only regret was that the Arachnids were nearly extinct and that they were so rare. Dungeon Cores couldn"t summon them out of thin air because apparently the Arachnid Queen had been killed and her Patron G.o.d abandoned the entire species. Somnus was not sure what that had to do with anything, but had to accept that the reason the Dungeon Core couldn"t summon spiders was because of "indeterminate circ.u.mstances". How could Somnus understand the anger of a G.o.d towards a race that failed to not only protect the G.o.d"s lover, but also their very own mother?
The main problem with Codename Hashmal, or Veyron as he was formerly known, was that he was too large to move from the boss room where he had killed Argon, the Spiral Voidknight. Therefore, most of the mechanization that went into Hashmal was tapping into the power of [Whisperwalk] and granting Hashmal the ability to move through s.p.a.ce without interacting with it—sort of like what magical circles did.
Towards this purpose, Somnus removed Hashmal"s heart and from it, he made three mana reactors of the Gram-type, each one capable of outputting five times the mana Somnus could. Hashmal was a terrifying creation.
Hashmal"s mechanization was a complete failure in terms of what Somnus wanted and what he created; his lack of understanding regarding the Information Dimension and playing with causality itself has led to errors. Significant errors. What he created even Somnus considered to be an abomination—a weapon that should never see the light of day.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Codename Hashmal was no longer part of this world.
At least, that is what a sane person would think.
Abomination? Not see the light of day? That is exactly the kind of weapon Somnus wanted. So what if Hashmal existed in a different, and probably undefined, s.p.a.ce as a result of his magical Arrays? Not a problem. In principle, so long as Somnus knew, and he did, what Hashmal"s Information Layer looked like, he could open the door to the Vacuum and unleash the Avatar of Abyss that Hashmal became.
Which is exactly what Somnus was going to do.
When Somnus walked out of the dungeon and into the light of day for the first time since he received this body, he was flanked by two mechanical spiders, two female humans and three goblins, one of which moved in an untamed and unhinged manner. Several adventurers preparing to brave the dungeon saw this and froze in their place, watching at the strange creatures and the stranger still party of people. Monsters and humans? Were they tamers or something?
Somnus did not even pay a single glance to the adventurers, instead he turned towards the forest in the distance and… hesitated.
He actually hesitated.
Of course, Emily and Arcadia did not understand what Somnus did to Veyron, only that Veyron was something similar to a summon now. However, Somnus never mentioned to Arcadia what Veyron became, only that he disappeared.
Maybe this is a bad idea.
Somnus glanced to his party and wondered if they could resist Hashmal should things turn out not the way Somnus expects them to. If Hashmal was hostile now, Somnus was not convinced that he could defeat the dragon.
Perhaps I should keep it for emergencies. I don"t need Codename Hashmal right now.
Somnus chuckled darkly, unable to hold back the strange human need to emit sound in tense situations. He needed to find a way to become a machine once more, and quick. He could not even suppress the tingling sensation of fear. Being cautious was natural and acceptable, feeling fear was irrational and unacceptable.
"What"s the matter? Are you going to summon your weapon or whatever?" Arcadia asked, grossly underestimating Hashmal"s status. Hashmal wasn"t a mere "weapon", it was this world"s project Manhattan. Being human now, Somnus understood Oppenheimer"s quote a bit better: I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
"There is no reason to summon it here. We still have to walk to my city. Perhaps I will summon it there," Somnus said, giving a reasonable explanation. It made sense. There was no reason to call Hashmal here.
"Master has city?" Det asked, looking at Somnus with even greater respect.
"He is a King. Actually, this is his country," Emily said.
The goblins and the spiders both stared at Somnus, blown away by the revelation. So did the adventurers in the background. In fact, one of the adventurers, a human woman approached Somnus.
"Excuse me, your Majesty, but I could not help but overhear your conversation. Are you… His Majesty, Somnus?" the woman asked.
Somnus looked at her, held his gaze on her for a few seconds and then looked back to the dungeon.
Just at that moment, more goblins came out, followed by orcs and other monsters. They had a wagon, which they pulled, and on it was the Arrod Dungeon Core, fastened in place by ropes.
"Uhm… why are you… followed by goblins… and why are you—is that the Dungeon Core?" the woman kept trailing off each time her mind was blown by the absurdity of the events unraveling one after the other right before her eyes.
Det eyed the human woman and said, "Master… she pretty. Make good soup. Can Det keep?"
"Affirmative," Somnus said with an indifferent tone.
"No, of course you cannot!" Arcadia protested.
"Master say is ok," Det said. "b.o.o.bs go find own meal."
"Det, would you mind not hurting our friends here, please?" Emily asked.
Det swallowed, looked to the human woman who was not sure if this was a joke or not, and then back to Emily. "Ok. If pretty say not ok, then Det go hungry."
Suddenly, Lod straightened his posture. "Oh no. Lod forget to feed family. Lod dead. Lod wives kill Lod. Lod wives feed Lod to children."
"Is Lod"s fault for separating from wives. Lod screwed now. Det never get married," Det said.
"If Lod die, Det die too," Lod said, glaring at the other goblin.
"Why Det have to die?" Det asked. "Det do no wrong. Det no fool around with Lod wives and make children."
"Lod say to third wife: Det take care of them if something happen to Lod," Lod explained.
Det went deathly pale as he heard those words. "Why Lod say that? Lod liar! Lod kill us both!"
Then they both turned to look at a group of female goblins, as if sensing their presence.
"Lod, we hide," Det said and then turned to Arcadia. "b.o.o.bs say Lod and Det die in battle."
Arcadia shook her head. "No."
"Det will stop calling you name you hate if you help Det and Lod," Lod said.
Arcadia sniffed angrily and then considered the proposal before nodding. "Fine. I want you to call me Arcadia."
"Arkedia?" Det asked. "What stupid name."
Arcadia narrowed her eyes.
"Fine, Det call you Arkedia. Please help us!" Det said.
"All right. I"ll help."
Det and Lod threw themselves on their knees and said, "Oh. Thank mistress Arkedia! We never forgets!"
The two goblins, both battle-hardened veterans and leaders of their Division, ran into the woods to hide from Lod"s wives.
Meanwhile, the human woman was stunned by what she saw. She looked to Somnus. This was supposed to be a King?
"Is he not getting chased by his wives?" the human female asked, nodding to Hadron who stood motionlessly and vacantly stared into the distance.
"Uh, he is uhh… hmm… how to put this," Arcadia said, glancing to Emily as if seeking help.
Emily shrugged.
"He is different," Arcadia said.
The human female nodded. She completely misunderstood the context of that reply. Of course, what she really wanted to know was to ask why they were traveling with monsters and stealing a Dungeon Core.
"Maaaaaster." Hadron rasped. "Hadron… Smell… Ash…"
Somnus looked to Hadron, considering his words. "Ash?" Somnus could smell no ash in the air.
"Herald. Come. Here. Now," Hadron said, looking up to the sky.
"A Herald? That is imp—oh no," Arcadia trailed off, looking up at the darkening sky.
"Herald. Ashborn. Queen," Hadron said as the clouds swirled into themselves, creating a rift in the sky.
"Kaiza?" Arcadia asked, eyes wide. "Oh no. We have to run!"
"I am sorry, who is Kaiza? Is she a Herald?" the human female asked, underestimating the severity of the situation. Surely, a herald and a king on the same day was highly unlikely to happen.
"No. Kaiza is the Herald"s consort. The Ashborn Queen," Arcadia explained.
"Queen. Lead way. Ash. Come."
A lightning bolt crawled across the sky, forming a spiderweb, and then ash fell from the sky as if the clouds themselves were incinerated.
Not too far from Somnus, the ash formed into a twister and solidified into the form of a woman with black hair and incredibly pale skin. She wore a black dress made entirely of ash which was in the shape of black feathers, constantly falling apart and remaking themselves.
The beautiful woman had a gentle smile on her face.