A few days later.
Inside the patrol car, Tom tapped away at his tablet and let out a heavy sigh.
“Hey. Ren. You hear the news about the ‘Underground Arena’?” “Not interested.” Ren replied nonchalantly, keeping his hands on the steering wheel. “They say a new arena opened up underground in District 13. Apparently, there’s a tournament where you fight machine monsters, and the prize pool is a whopping 50 million credits.”
Tom's eyes were gleaming with greed again.
“Prize money aside, word is the machines fighting there are all built with ‘Unidentified Tech.’ They say even just scavenging the parts on the black market is a jackpot.”
Ren's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Unidentified tech. The mechanical engineering in this city was mostly standardized—a fusion of magi-tech and cybernetics. But if the word ‘unidentified’ was attached to it, there was a chance it involved something alien, like the wreckage of the pod he had seen in the wasteland a few days ago.
“And?” “No, it's just... you like machines, so I thought maybe you'd be interested. Thought we could go check it out.” Tom prodded.
In truth, Tom was just too scared to go alone and was trying to rope Ren into it. The underground arena was a lawless zone straddling the line between illegal and legal.
Ren pondered for a moment. It would be better to just go home and listen to jazz, but the bait of ‘unidentified tech’ bothered him slightly. What if it was a clue related to dimensional travel? The chances were probably less than 0.0001%, but it was worth checking out.
“Let's go.” “Really? Okay! We're heading straight there after our shift!” Tom shouted excitedly.
*
10 PM, Underground District 13.
An abandoned subway station converted into an arena: the ‘Iron Cage.’ From the entrance, the heat and the roar of the crowd shook the ground. The spectator stands were filled with acrid cigarette smoke and the stench of sweat, while sparks flew inside the central steel cage.
Craaash! A massive combat robot ripped the arm off its opponent and roared (or rather, emitted a loud mechanical screech).
“Waaaaah! Kill it! Smash it to pieces!”
The crowd went wild, throwing money into the air. Ren and Tom stood in a corner. Tom was practically hiding behind Ren's back, terrified.
“Hey... the vibe here is vicious. Are you sure we should be here?” “...You're the one who asked to come.”
Ren casually scanned the interior of the arena. Most of the fighters were crudely modified robots—Frankenstein-like monstrosities cobbled together from junkyard parts.
However, Ren's gaze didn't stop at the fighting ring. It stopped at a massive shipping container placed beneath the VIP terrace on one side of the arena. It was labeled as the ‘Champion’ unit waiting for its next match.
‘……That's.’
Ren's pupils contracted microscopically. A wavelength was leaking through the cracks of the container. It wasn't normal mana. It was energy operating on the exact same frequency as the alien pod wreckage Ren had seen in the wasteland. But it was far more refined, processed by someone's hands.
Someone got their hands on alien technology and was turning it into a weapon? With this city's level of tech, even analyzing it should be impossible. Who on earth did it?
Just then, the announcer grabbed the microphone and shouted.
“Alright! Thank you for waiting! It's time for tonight's main event! The appearance of our undefeated champion, the ‘Death Bringer’!”
Hsssss. The container doors opened, and amidst a cloud of white steam, a 3-meter-tall mechanical beast stepped out. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a gorilla. Its armor was treated with a matte black finish, and red sensors flashed where its eyes should be.
Most notably, the power source mounted on its back. It wasn't emitting blue light, but a bizarre, eerie purple glow.
“Grrrrrr....”
The machine growled like a living creature. It wasn't a recorded sound. It sounded like the vibration of vocal cords—a fusion of organism and machine.
“Uwooooh! Death Bringer! Kill them all!” The audience lost their minds.
Its opponent was a tank-type robot clad in heavy armor. But the match was anticlimactic. The Death Bringer closed the distance in a flash and used its front paw (more like a massive pincer) to rip the tank's turret off like a piece of paper.
CRUNCH!
Exactly three seconds. It was an overwhelming difference in performance.
While the stands were a crucible of frenzy, Ren analyzed it coldly.
‘Its reaction speed exceeds mechanical limits. That thing isn't moving via a processing unit. It either has a transplanted biological neural network... or the pilot is an Esper.’
Either way, it wasn't a normal arena robot.
“Whoa... what the hell is that? It's a literal monster.” Tom's jaw dropped.
Just then, the Death Bringer's red sensors swept across the audience. And for a very brief moment, it paused exactly where Ren was standing.
Did the machine recognize Ren? Or did it detect the exploratory wave Ren had subconsciously leaked?
Vvvvrrrr. The Death Bringer's power source vibrated ominously. Ren instinctively felt it. That thing wasn't being controlled. It was merely suppressing its bloodlust, like a wild beast on the verge of going berserk inside a forcibly applied restraint. And the tip of that bloodlust was currently pointing at him.
‘This just got annoying.’
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ren grabbed Tom's shoulder.
“Let's go.” “Huh? Already? The main event just started!” “It's boring.”
Right as Ren turned to leave. Alarms blared from inside the arena's steel cage.
[Warning! System Error! Loss of Control!]
The Death Bringer suddenly charged at the steel cage.
BANG! The cage, made of special alloy, bent like taffy.
“Huh? Wha—?!”
It only took a second for the crowd's cheers to turn into screams. The Death Bringer tore the steel cage open and was about to charge into the stands.
“Aaaargh! Help!”
The arena instantly became a scene of pure chaos. The massive beast of steel, the ‘Death Bringer,’ descended upon the spectators. Concrete walls crumbled with a heavy boom, and debris flew everywhere.
Its target was clear. Only one person. It was charging in a straight line toward Ren, who was standing in the furthest corner.
“R-Ren! Dodge! That thing is coming right at us?!”
Tom turned pale and scrambled backward. His legs had already given out. Caught between the instinct to run and legs that refused to move, Tom could only scream.
Ren let out a sigh. If he turned his back now, it would just get more annoying. The machine's sensors had designated Ren's bio-signature as the ‘Highest Priority Threat.’ It looked ready to chase him to the ends of the earth.
‘That purple power source.’
Ren's eyes locked onto the flashing core on the beast's back. It was unstable. Because they were trying to forcibly control alien energy with Earth's technology, it was overloaded. On top of that, its hostility toward Ren had pushed its output beyond its limits.
‘Making it self-destruct is the best option.’
Ren didn't take his hands out of his pockets. He simply nudged Tom's shoulder.
“Gun.” “Huh? Wha—? Gun? Wait, why is this here?”
Hadn't it been established that he constantly caused trouble? This wasn't the first time Tom's forgetfulness had led him to carry his service weapon off-duty without returning it to the armory. Regardless, that wasn't important right now.
“Shoot it. Right there.” Ren gestured with his chin toward the center of the Death Bringer's forehead. “A-Are you crazy? How are we supposed to kill that with a handgun!” “Just shoot. We have to do something.”
THUMP! THUMP! The Death Bringer was right in front of them. The sheer oppressive presence of the house-sized mass was enough to crush the air out of their lungs. The beast raised its front paw high. If it brought it down, Ren and Tom would be turned into a bloody paste.
“Ah, screw it! I don't care anymore!”
Tom squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger.
BANG! The feeble gunshot of the magi-tech pistol echoed through the arena. The bullet sliced through the air. Naturally, it was on a trajectory to miss. Tom's marksmanship was atrocious, after all.
But in that split second. Ren's pupils glowed faintly.
‘Trajectory Correction.’
The air surrounding the flying mana bullet twisted. Ignoring the laws of physics, the bullet curved sharply. And it dug precisely into the gap of the Death Bringer's neck joint. Simultaneously, Ren coated the bullet with an infinitesimally thin layer of his own mana.
‘Penetration.’
The bullet pierced the beast's armor and accurately severed the internal power transmission cable. That cable was connected to the gyroscope that controlled the machine's sense of balance.
Vvvvrrrr— click.
The massive paw of the Death Bringer, midway through its downward strike, froze in mid-air. Its red eyes blinked.
And then.
CRASH! BANG! The giant mechanical monster tripped over its own feet and pitched forward. Like a ridiculously exaggerated Hollywood stunt, it crashed noisily and scraped across the floor.
Screeech... It struggled to get back up, but its already-severed neural network refused to respond. The purple core on its back sputtered and died.
Silence.
The crowd, who had been screaming and fleeing, froze in their tracks. Tom, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut, slowly peeked one open.
“……Huh?”
Right in front of him, the massive chunk of scrap metal lay face down. Emitting smoke, completely shut down.
“W-What the? Did I... did I kill it?” Tom looked down at his pistol with a bewildered expression.
Ren replied apathetically. “Nice shot.” “R-Really? Did I hit a weak spot?” “Must have been a sensor in its neck.” “Whoa... holy crap. Jackpot.” Color returned to Tom's face.
Just then, cheers erupted from the breathless audience.
“Waaaaah!” “He took down the monster with a single handgun shot!” “What insane marksmanship!”
People applauded Tom. It was the birth of a hero in the dark. Tom shrugged and tried to stylishly spin his pistol before holstering it, but his hand slipped and he dropped it on the floor.
“Ah. Oops.” “Pick it up quickly. Are you trying to advertise to the whole neighborhood that you brought a gun off-duty?” “I forgot to leave it in the armory. Haha. Thank god I did, huh?”
It was an offense worthy of disciplinary action, but it was a dangerous world, so things like this were often glossed over. Of course, that was assuming he hadn't caused any other trouble.
“Let's go. People are swarming.”
Ren grabbed Tom by the scruff of his neck. Leaving behind the cheering crowd and the rushing arena guards, the two blended into the sea of people.
Tom was still giggling, intoxicated by the fact that he had 'slain a monster,' but Ren remained cold. He glanced back once.
The Death Bringer, dead and smoking. The purple core lodged in its back. That color, and the alien wavelength he had felt earlier. It was nearly identical to the authority of the Machine God ‘Antares’ described in the novel
According to the original story, Antares should still be in a deep slumber. His apostles weren't supposed to begin their activities until much later. Yet, something like that was already circulating in the underworld?
‘Has the plot sped up?’
Ren thought for a moment. Was it the butterfly effect? Or had a variable he was unaware of been introduced?
But he soon shook his head. Who cares? Whether it sped up or slowed down, it was a problem that would ultimately be solved when Kyle started swinging his Holy Sword around. In fact, if the bad guys started acting up early, Kyle's growth rate would probably speed up too, so the protagonist would figure it out.
*
The next day.
From early morning, the 7th Department office vibrated with Chief Bargo's screaming.
“You crazy son of a bitch! Have you lost your damn mind?!” Bargo smacked Tom over the head with a thick stack of paperwork.
Smack!
“Aaargh! Chief! That hurts!” “I hit you so it would hurt! You absolute disaster! Taking a service weapon off-duty? And on top of that, crawling into an illegal underground arena? Are you dying to write apologies until you run out of paper?!”
Tom pouted, looking wronged.
“No... but I saved the citizens. I took down a monster robot too... I'm a hero on the news...” “Hero, my ass! The Internal Affairs Division just notified us they're convening a disciplinary committee! You can kiss your promotion goodbye again this time!”
Tom's face drained of color.
“R-Really? You said it was a sure thing this time!” “How could it be?! Unauthorized weapon removal and entering an illegal establishment? Be thankful you're not getting fired!”
Tom slumped to the floor. His failure to pass the promotion review wasn't due to a lack of skill. It was always because of these absurd procedural violations he committed at crucial moments.
In the corner, Ren silently typed away at a typewriter.
[Incident Report: Illegal Arena Robot Rampage. Accidental defensive discharge. No casualties.]
He wrote it as dryly as possible. It was true that Tom caused trouble, but he couldn't just let him get stripped of his badge. If it weren't for Ren, Tom probably would have died back there, but regardless, Ren wasn't entirely uninvolved in the fact that Tom had fired the gun.
“And Ren! You get over here too!”
The sparks had flown to him. Ren swallowed a sigh and stood up.
“Yes.” “You should have stopped him! If your partner goes strolling out with a gun, you should have smacked him in the back of the head to stop him! Instead, you went with him to watch the show?!” “I apologize.”
Chief Bargo was already grabbing the back of his neck, looking for his blood pressure medication. Bargo roughly yanked open his desk drawer, pulled out a white envelope, and threw it onto his desk.
Slap.
“Tom. Three months probation. And a pay cut.” “Huh? Is... is that all? I'm not getting fired?” Tom snapped his head up. For someone expecting to be terminated, it was a punishment akin to salvation.
“I barely managed to stop the Internal Affairs guys from going on a rampage. Count your lucky stars that public opinion is in your favor. Everyone's calling you a hero, so they probably felt it was too burdensome to fire you right away.” “Chief! Thank you! Sir, yes, sir! I will dedicate my life to this department!” Tom saluted, deeply moved.
But Bargo's expression didn't soften. He stared intently at Ren.
“And Ren.” “Yes.” “You are guilty of failing to stop him, and you bear responsibility for negligent management.” “I am aware.” “So, the two of you need to disappear from my sight for a while.”
Bargo gestured toward the envelope with his chin.
“Pack your bags. You're being dispatched.” “Where to.” “The Archeon Magic Academy.”