NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97
As Falcon approached City D at breakneck speed, we formulated a plan. Though, to be honest, there wasn’t much of a plan at all.
“When we arrive at City D, Arima and Ayle, you two will stay with Falcon and keep an eye on the CEO of Company D while he casts magic.”
The CEO, who was clearly a dragon based on the circumstances, posed the greatest risk with whatever unpredictable magic he might unleash. If Arima could just block the spells he sent flying from mid-air, he’d have done his job. Ayle needed to stay behind to protect the unguarded Arima.
“After that, Galm and Levitan will descend and find the boss. Remember, our goal is to rescue the boss, not to fight enemies.”
“Uh-huh, I got that—but what about you, Scientist?”
“I’ll be distracting them. So you guys can run wild without the enemies paying you any mind.”
I pulled out another robot from my coat, to the bewildered expressions of the executives who seemed to wonder what kind of nonsense this was. Galm let out a scoff at the toy-sized robot.
“Ha! So that’s where it went… You had it?”
“Yep, I snatched it.”
“Hahaha! Snatched it, did you? Well done!”
As Galm laughed heartily upon seeing the Steel Titan, we soon got close enough to catch sight of the city buildings. Realizing we had little time left, Falcon roared flames from its engines, and a massive surge of energy erupted from a skyscraper looming in the distance.
As the radar blared alarms, a flash of light shot from the skyscraper and engulfed Falcon.
* * *
“Did we take it down?”
At the top of the skyscraper, Hisberk casually sipped wine as he launched magic toward the approaching object in the distance. He didn’t bother to care what it was. Something traveling at dozens of Mach. It could’ve been a space shuttle or the latest military fighter jet—but at least today, he hadn’t heard any reports of such objects flying near the city.
He was the owner of Dragon Company, and Dragon Company owned City D. Thus, it was proper to say he was the master of this city. There shouldn’t be anything about the city he didn’t know.
“Or maybe it was sent by that anomaly.”
Hisberk had already confirmed that the anomaly was not a dragon like him. He had confirmed that the anomaly in Regalia’s memory was definitely not a dragon.
How disappointed he had been when he found that out; on impulse, he confined Regalia and her crew. It wouldn’t do to keep them locked up forever, so he had to wipe their memories and send them back.
“—Huh?”
For a brief moment, he frowned at the fact that there were no other of his kind left in this world, only to glance up and scowl at an unidentified chunk of metal flying toward him.
It was the very object he had just shot at with his magic. How was it still flying?
“That was magic capable of piercing through a battleship’s deck…”
Puzzled, Hisberk conjured magic again and launched the same spell once more. A long beam of light streaked through the air as he tried to comprehend how the unknown object survived his magic.
It was dodging his attack with acrobatic maneuvers straight out of a cartoon. As it got closer, Hisberk finally recognized the identity of the object flying toward him. A robot, over several dozen meters in size.
“That’s the one that appeared in City W…”
Since he was involved in recent affairs related to it, he quickly realized what the robot was. A product of super science that City P had created, which had devastated City W. The one responsible for City P’s downfall after suddenly disappearing without a trace.
So that’s where it went… Another anomaly must have swooped in and swallowed it whole.
“I was curious how powerful it was—but this should be interesting.”
Seeing his magic being dodged and noting the tremendous speed of that massive steel robot made it easy to grasp just how much destructive power it possessed.
If such a heavy creature rammed into something at that speed, it could have the impact of colliding with a formidable asteroid. Meaning, anyone hit by it would be in deep trouble.
But not him. Not for someone who had risen to the pinnacle of all living beings, a dragon.
“Let’s see if you can handle this!”
Dozens of magic circles appeared around Hisberk. Moments later, dozens of beams shot out from the magic circles.
Each one wielding the lethal power to pierce through the armor of a battleship. A high-mobility guided laser that even cutting-edge fighters powered by superpowers wouldn’t be able to escape from.
Yet that fighter appeared to dodge each trajectory as if it had clear sight of all of them. Its movements were so graceful it felt like it was choreographed. Hisberk furrowed his brow at the sight.
“…Hmm.”
Just watching the sight that was infuriating him, Hisberk momentarily droned on before casting a wide-area spell as if to say, “Come on, try and block this.” A colossal annihilation spell capable of wiping out an entire army in one fell swoop.
Without any space to evade, he unleashed the maximum range area attack spell, and this revealed a spectacle entirely different but even more shocking than before.
From the core of the fighter erupted a wave that dispelled Hisberk’s magic. Dispel. A magic that nullifies other magic.
“What the—?”
Hisberk was momentarily taken aback by a dispel he never imagined he’d encounter in an uncivilized world. The wave didn’t just stop there; it swept through the Dragon Skyscraper, including the space where Hisberk was.
Hit by this magic that forcibly released all spells, Hisberk writhed in pain, groaning. The polymorph magic that was keeping him in human form began to unravel.
“Ugh, ugh—! A mere human—!”
Not being able to destroy his own skyscraper, as soon as Hisberk moved outside the building, he transformed back into a dragon. Resuming the form of a being larger than several hundred meters.
As he momentarily morphed into a colossal creature one would only expect in ancient times, Hisberk realized that dispel was thickly laid throughout the entire city. That magician had blanketed the city with dispel magic. Remarkably exquisite skill. Even a dragon like him couldn’t easily break it.
—Those arrogant humans! Let’s see you dodge this too—!
Breathing deeply, Hisberk inhaled. His lungs began to swell immensely, igniting magical combustion. Dragon’s breath. A highly heated magical ray that incinerates everything in its path was unleashed.
Uncounterable by dispel, and likewise, an attack that a magician focused solely on dispel couldn’t possibly block.
Hisberk assumed this one maneuver would settle everything. But soon, right as he released his breath, another robot descended from the sky.
[Wooooooh!]
With arms raised forward, the armored warrior fell to the ground while defending against Hisberk’s breath with its forearms and swung a fist, crackling against Hisberk’s jaw. Hisberk’s jaw shot upward, slicing through the sky and the clouds.
For a moment, it felt as though the universe had shattered, dark space adorned by the bright sky—Steel Titan, having landed on the ground, ripped a skyscraper out and gripped it like a sword.
[The protector of justice—! Steel Titan appears!]
—You useless tin can… you slaughtering monster of a human…!
[I know! My sins will never vanish! But still— I will punish evil without yielding!]
With that proclamation, Steel Titan swung the skyscraper he held. Soon, Hisberk’s jaw lifted tremendously as he was struck by the tall structure he had just wielded, revealing the Boss and Vira through the gap in the demolished building.
Seeing them, Eight suddenly shouted.
[Boss—! Are you okay!?]
In the distance, the Boss waved gently, while Galm and Levitan carefully leapt from the Titan to rescue them. Hisberk didn’t seem to notice the movements of those two small beasts.
At that moment, Eight realized that he had to keep the attention of that massive lizard fixed on him, thus achieving a feat that no one in his past life could accomplish.
‘Fighting a giant lizard that seems to have been the result of a bio-experiment gone wrong, using a giant robot…’
If he told this story back on Earth, everyone would brand him a liar. But after his memories were scanned, when it turned out all this was true, it would create a huge buzz on social media.
Even if the fame were just for a day, it was still a guaranteed way to etch his name in history. Eight thought this and clenched his fist.
“Come on, lab lizard.”
[Come on, lab lizard.]
—…You lowly creature.
As the Steel Titan echoed his words, Hisberk simmered with rage. Soon after, the pinnacle of science clashed with the peak of biological evolution.
* * *
Whoooosh—!
A massive tail whooshed right in front of me. Just the wind pressure shattered nearby windows. But it was not threatening enough to crack Steel Titan’s lenses.
I maneuvered the Steel Titan using what felt like a game controller you’d find at an arcade. I couldn’t claim my skills were better than boxing champions, but at least they surpassed Steelstone’s when controlling Falcon.
The cockpit of Steel Titan was made like a gamepad, thanks to my fondness for fighting games back in school.
‘Up, left, down, down.’
Slashing, biting, swinging.
The beast’s attack patterns were painfully obvious.
The creature before me didn’t look like it had ever trained MMA, and even if it had, it probably couldn’t use its massive form effectively.
Using reflexes and battle AI support, along with predictions from big data simulations, I dodged all the dragon’s attacks. Meanwhile, my attacks gradually found their mark. I could already see the frustration on that lizard’s face as it was relentlessly pounded.
—GRAHHH-! Damn human! Tin can!
[Ha ha ha—! Rocket punch!]
Titan’s knee strike slammed powerfully into the dragon’s abdomen, causing the creature to spew saliva from the internal shock. Then, I grabbed its head as it lowered to brace from the blow and kneed it again.
After taking consecutive hits of the same attack, the dragon was finally in a groggy state. I set my posture, operating Titan as if inputting a special command to a fighting game character. Instantly, multiple openings popped open across Titan’s body, releasing a burst of boosters.
[Finishing move!]
Whirrrrr-!
In a 720-degree spin, Titan’s kick connected with the dragon’s jaw. Delivering a close-range special move akin to those in fighting games, and with nothing to miss, Titan’s attack landed without fail.
—………!
The colossal impact made it seem as if its head might just fly off. It was probably the same for that massive dragon. Its body slowly fell toward the ground, crashing and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Having watched the display, I took up the finishing stance and kept my eyes on the dragon. Yet, it showed no signs of rising again.
[Boss defeated!]
Even as Titan began to chant a resurrection spell, it remained down.