The Mechanized Empire Almsvin, Imperial Capital—Balzephon.
At the exact moment Veldora and Michel crossed paths, a summit meeting was convened, summoned in the name of Emperor Almsvin.
Six individuals had gathered.
Emperor Almsvin. Prime Minister Fuudra. Eastern Cities Governor-General, Great General Christoph. Western Cities Governor-General, Lieutenant General Arvin. Northern Cities Governor-General, Major General Armet. Acting Southern Cities Governor-General, Brigadier General Jigil.
—The supreme powers of the empire.
Prime Minister Fuudra rose to his feet, surveyed the assembly, and declared the meeting open.
In response, Emperor Almsvin spoke in a heavy tone.
"—Michel is not here?"
That was not the main topic; it was the voice of a father lamenting his daughter's absence.
The one who answered was Jigil, Michel's adjutant.
"Your Majesty, forgive my presumption. Lady Michel has departed to eliminate the traitors."
"Very well. It's fine. I hold no grudge."
Almsvin said those few words tersely.
No emotion could be discerned from his voice—no one could tell what the emperor was thinking.
Jigil felt the same way, and the tremendous pressure of being here in Michel's stead bore down on him.
Jigil, too, was one of the few generals.
But the people gathered here were on an entirely different level.
The emperor who ruled the empire. The prime minister who supported the empire with his intellect—the emperor's most trusted confidant, Fuudra. And— The governors of each city, equal in rank to Michel, and the mightiest of them all:
The Four Armored Generals.
It was no wonder Jigil was tense facing such an assembly.
"It is somewhat problematic that she has not responded to Your Majesty's summons, but I hear there was a mix-up in communications? In that case, surely she cannot be blamed," Fuudra interceded, then moved on to the main topic.
"If I may, the reason I have gathered you all here today is to inform you that the time has come."
"The time? What are you talking about?"
"Yes. Allow me to explain."
In place of the silent Christoph, it was Arvin who posed the question.
Christoph was a hero. A career military man who had led armies to battle during the Great War. Afterward, he shared the same ideals as his close friend Almsvin and helped him ascend to the throne.
Arvin was Almsvin's son and Michel's elder brother. Cheerful and capable, he was always the first to ask questions at meetings like these. Bold and unflinching, he served as the mood-maker.
"To be precise, there are several plans that have been proceeding in absolute secrecy, and they have begun to bear fruit. In particular, the contamination removal experiment being conducted at the expense of Sixth is proceeding splendidly. The underground purification is largely complete, and we shall soon move on to the surface level."
As he explained, Prime Minister Fuudra wore a thin smile.
The others looked bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning.
"Wait, Fuudra. What do you mean, 'at the expense of Sixth'—?!"
Perhaps sensing the ominous undertone in Fuudra's words, Arvin hastily pressed for clarification.
Christoph remained silent, but his gaze had sharpened.
Armet had not moved from his slumped posture since the start of the meeting—whether he was even interested was impossible to tell.
And Jigil was stunned by Fuudra's words.
Sixth—that could only refer to the Sixth City.
Then that meant…
"My, my, you all play the innocent so well! Please, spare me the pleasantries. You must have realized by now—to make the empire invincible, we needed ten billion people to sacrifice themselves. We merely sacrificed fifty million residents. What is there to be so surprised about?"
Fuudra wore a grin that bordered on madness, utterly unrepentant as he spoke.
The one who shot to his feet in outrage was not Jigil—it was Arvin.
"You! Do you have any idea what you're saying?!"
Arvin shouted, his face twisted with fury.
He, too, had received consultations from Michel and had been investigating the matter with deep suspicion. Having never managed to find evidence, the last thing he expected was for the mastermind to declare it so brazenly—Jigil could only imagine how shocked Arvin must have been.
And who should calm Arvin down but none other than his own father, Emperor Almsvin himself.
"Calm yourself, Arvin. I was the one who ordered the experiment at Sixth. Do not blame Fuudra—"
So saying, he gestured for the agitated Arvin to sit down.
Arvin said "But…" reluctantly, but obeyed the emperor's command and took his seat.
"Hohoho! As expected of Your Majesty! I, Fuudra, am deeply impressed by Your Majesty's resolve!"
Fuudra addressed the emperor, a nauseating grin on his face—his words were clearly insincere.
His attitude toward the emperor was far too insolent.
Not only Arvin but even Christoph directed a sharp glare at Fuudra.
And just as he opened his mouth to offer a warning—
"—However, Fuudra. Surely it is premature to make this information public? Why have you brought it up now? Was it for this purpose that you summoned everyone under my name? What exactly are you thinking?!"
In a commanding voice, the emperor himself confronted Fuudra.
Before an emperor who had ruled the empire for over a century, everyone could only bow their heads.
Or at least, that was how it should have been.
But now, Fuudra maintained his insolent smirk, not dropping his arrogant posture one bit.
"It's nothing so dramatic. It's simply…"
"Simply? What is it, Fuudra?"
"I believe it is time for Your Majesty to be… relieved of your burden."
"Insolence, Fuudra!!"
Christoph, who had been silently listening, roared at Fuudra's words.
Even under the blazing fury of the hero Christoph, Fuudra's expression did not change in the slightest.
He stared back at Christoph calmly and spoke.
"Hero Christoph. You, too, are among those who know His Majesty's heart, aren't you? Cull the population from a world heading toward ruin, keeping only the fit and the capable alive. Await the world's stabilization, then condemn himself as the greatest criminal and hand power to a new leader. That magnificent spirit of self-sacrifice—"
Those words from Fuudra froze the room solid.
"Wh—!?"
"What did you say? Is that true, Father!?"
"No way… impossible…"
Shock rippled through each of them.
And as if he had been waiting for that exact moment, Fuudra rose to his feet and began speaking with an ecstatic expression.
"That's enough, isn't it, Your Majesty? You should tell everyone and finally put yourself at ease!"
"Are you mad, Fuudra!? The world is still contaminated—it's nowhere near stable. Now is not the time—"
"Shut up, you fossil!! The only reason I'm forced to take such measures is because you hoard the Perpetual Engine all to yourself!! With that miraculous device, all energy problems would be solved. And yet you—!!"
"What are you talking about?! I told you it was incomplete! It was nothing but a dream, Fuudra! For us humans, that thing was far beyond our reach!!"
"Shut up!!"
Fuudra suddenly screamed in a frenzy, then abruptly regained his composure.
And on his face appeared an evil grin.
"Your Majesty, this is your own fault, you know."
The final plan he had been secretly advancing now activated before Fuudra's eyes.
It happened simultaneously.
The first to move was Arvin.
Sensing the madness radiating from Fuudra, he rose to restrain the man, stepping forward with purpose. His heightened performance as one of the Four Armored Generals, controlled to perfection through the Mecha Control Art, allowed him to neutralize even the resulting shockwave as he dashed forward like a gale.
But that very action became the signal.
Targeting whoever moved first—that was the agreement between Fuudra and that person.
That person was Armet, Major General of the Northern Cities—one of the Four Armored Generals, equal in rank to Arvin.
Therefore, with his back turned and wide open, Arvin was defenseless. Armet's attack pierced through his head.
Energy became vibration and reached Arvin's brain.
Moments later, Arvin's head burst open like an egg heated in a microwave.
"I'm glad you moved first. You see, I've always hated you, Arvin."
The emperor's younger brother—Major General Armet, Governor of the Northern Cities.
But his heart had been warped by jealousy toward his brilliant elder brother, and he was consumed by an inferiority complex from being seen only as the emperor's brother.
As the lowest-ranked of the Four Armored Generals, that fact only fueled Armet's distortion further.
And having fallen under the honeyed words of Prime Minister Fuudra, who had seen through that darkness, he had committed this atrocity.
"Arvin!? You—Armet!! How could you—"
The emperor screamed.
Armet paid no heed, merely laughing.
His next target was none other than the source of his lifelong complex—his elder brother, Emperor Almsvin himself.
Armet's figure vanished and he lunged toward the emperor.
But the assassin's path was blocked by an iron will.
The hero, Great General Christoph—the strongest of the Four Armored Generals—had placed himself before Armet.
"Abandon that man and cooperate with me! If I become emperor, I'll keep you right where you are!"
"I refuse. My loyalty belongs to Almsvin—my friend and my emperor."
"So you'll interfere after all, Christoph? Then you'll regret it!"
A fierce battle erupted.
It was a clash between the strongest Mechanized Soldiers—the Four Armored Generals—and no one else could intervene.
Jigil, too, retreated to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
He hesitated briefly, then moved to go protect the emperor—but—
"'Stop, Jigil!!'"
With those words, Jigil's body froze.
(WHAT!? I can't move—!?)
Jigil was stunned.
"Can't move, eh? Since I was the one who modified you, I can freely cut your power with my command. Even if you joined the fight, you'd be useless anyway—so stay still and don't be a nuisance."
The speaker—Fuudra—sneered.
"What are you after, Fuudra?"
"Didn't I say, Your Majesty? My target is the Perpetual Engine. It's a shame Michel wasn't here, but her absence actually increased our chances of success. The only remaining Four Armored Generals are Christoph and Michel. If I eliminate Christoph here, only Michel will be left. This is my victory."
"You underestimate him! You're being far too careless about Christoph! Even if their bodies are of equal performance, Christoph's cognitive capacity is in a class of its own—especially against the very creator of the Mecha Control Art. Armet doesn't stand a chance!!"
Emperor Almsvin's words carried conviction.
The emperor had personally modified the Four Armored Generals, and among them, Christoph was truly worthy of the title "strongest."
Indeed, the battle unfolding before them showed Armet being steadily pushed back.
The difference in power was clear.
In fact, the Special Interlocking Barrier that Armet deployed was being neutralized as well, gradually losing its glow.
Armet's defeat was only a matter of time.
Without a sneak attack, it was impossible to fell a Four Armored General in a single blow.
And yet, Christoph was driving Armet toward incapacitation without the slightest panic.
But Fuudra showed no sign of losing his composure.
"I've collected enough data. Time to finish it—kill him!"
Neither the emperor, nor Jigil, nor even the combatant himself could comprehend what had happened.
Only Fuudra and Armet, who had known in advance, watched in silence.
The hand that had emerged from the chest of the hero Christoph. The owner of that hand—Arvin, whose head had been destroyed moments ago. And Armet, laughing like a madman.
"Th-That's impossible!? My brain was destroyed—how…"
The gravely wounded Christoph asked in a daze.
The one to answer was Arvin, who had just finished regenerating his head.
"It's quite simple, Great General Christoph. You see—I'm not Arvin. I'm an artificial life form created by Father Fuudra—a bioroid. However, I've absorbed all of Arvin's memories and techniques from his genetic information and the Bio-Electronic Computer integrated into this body. One might say I'm Arvin reborn, in a manner of speaking."
"HAAAA-HAHAHAHA! That's right! Arvin died from my attack and played dead, waiting for you to let your guard down, Christoph! If you had moved first, I would have destroyed you with my own hands—what a shame!!"
"Impossible—!!"
"Guh—Your Majesty, I'm sorry—"
Emperor Almsvin, stunned and shaken.
And leaving the emperor behind, the hero Christoph ceased all life activity.
"How could this happen… what have they done…"
As the emperor despaired, Fuudra addressed him coldly.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. Christoph may be dead, but his death is not in vain. He will be reborn as an even stronger bioroid."
So saying, Fuudra embedded a sphere he had taken out into Christoph's chest.
"Your Majesty, the Four Armored Generals you created were indeed masterpieces, possessing extraordinary capabilities. Self-repair through the Micro Auto-Recovery Device, extraordinary durability from special alloys, a high-output fusion reactor powered by spatial expansion technology—their power exceeded existing weapons by several times. Above all, the ability to individually deploy the Special Interlocking Barrier—a cornerstone of city defense—made them truly worthy of being called the strongest. However, that is now a thing of the past. The bioroids I create possess the flexibility of biological tissue. As you can see—"
Before Fuudra's ecstatic gaze, the fallen Christoph rose to his feet.
Only his vital components had been retained—everything else had been absorbed and decomposed, his body reconstructed from scratch.
He still looked like Christoph on the outside, but inside, he was something entirely different.
And yet his memories and techniques perfectly replicated everything about Christoph…
No—
Christoph's aging face had reverted to its younger self.
Ageless biological cells and memory elements had replicated his genetic data. The form he took was not his current one, but his younger, vigor-filled prime.
One might think a Mechanized Soldier's appearance was meaningless, but that wasn't the case.
Degradation of the brain led to diminished decisiveness, perception, and reaction speed.
With even those weaknesses eliminated, Christoph had been reborn as the ultimate bioroid.
But his heart was gone, and his will now served Fuudra.
"—A pleasure to meet you, Father. I am Christoph—your shield and your sword. Command me as you will."
Thus was born the most dangerous bioroid of all.
Emperor Almsvin was at a loss for words.
The friend he had trusted most had fallen before his eyes. And worse still, he had been resurrected as their greatest enemy.
It was no wonder the emperor was in confusion.
"C-Could it be—Arvin too—!?"
At last, even the emperor understood: Arvin had not betrayed them—he had been secretly recreated.
The fact that he had regenerated after losing his head should have made that obvious from the start.
"Yes, Your Majesty deduces correctly. His Highness refused to cooperate with us, so we had no choice, I'm afraid."
"You—!!"
"HAHAHA! I told you—this is what happens when Your Majesty hides the Perpetual Engine from everyone! With that alone, all energy problems could be solved. With its power, the purification of this world could be accomplished without the need to wait for tedious experimental results!"
"That's why—"
"Silence! I have no intention of indulging your leisurely schemes any longer!"
"Indeed. You see, brother, I agree with everything Fuudra has said. Rather than remain emperor of this filthy world, why not become the ruler of a beautiful planet? Our interests are aligned, and we've agreed to cooperate. So leave the rest to me and rest easy."
Surrendered to his evil desires, Armet looked at the emperor.
Christoph and Arvin—the two bioroids—watched in silence, letting events unfold.
Seeing this, Fuudra was convinced his ambition was halfway realized.
The time had come.
One of the plans he had been secretly advancing had been achieved.
The four generals personally modified by the emperor were a crystallization of his genius intellect—masterpieces of superlative technology.
Given that the aging emperor could no longer recreate them, one could call them lost technology without exaggeration.
That was precisely why Fuudra had been developing technology to rival them.
And it was now complete.
Through repeated clandestine human experiments, he had gathered data.
And at last, Fuudra's biotransformation experiments had borne fruit.
He had undergone the procedure himself one month prior.
Everything after that moved quickly.
In conspiracy with Armet, with whom he had been secretly cooperating, he lured out Arvin and dealt with him.
Then he converted him into the ultimate pawn—a bioroid.
And now.
With the greatest obstacle, Christoph, in his grasp, the only remaining hindrance was Michel.
A mere puppet who held his position solely because he was the emperor's brother could be eliminated at any time.
"HAAAA-HAHAHAHA!! Brother, this is goodbye! Leave the rest to—WHAT!?"
Christoph's fist, flung aside with terrifying force, instantly obliterated the fool's head.
Fuudra nodded with satisfaction and devoured his body.
By doing so, he remade himself into the ultimate existence.
Through the fusion of the emperor's lost super-technology and his own research.
And the body of Prime Minister Fuudra, once that of an elderly man, transformed into that of a young, black-haired youth.
"Fuudra… you…"
The emperor murmured in disbelief, and Fuudra turned a surprisingly gentle gaze upon him.
"Your Majesty—or rather, Senpai Ar. Being emperor was never your forte, was it? I'll take it from here. I'll be taking your knowledge, though—"
With that, Fuudra granted Emperor Almsvin an eternal slumber.
It was the end of the man who had guided the empire for over a century.
"Now then… so Michel was indeed hiding the Perpetual Engine from us. I'm pleased the operation succeeded, but having to do this twice is troublesome. Still…"
Fuudra turned his gaze to Jigil.
"I have bait. Use this, and I can acquire her without lifting a finger."
So saying, he let out an evil laugh.
"No—stop. STOOOOOOP!!"
And then—Jigil's consciousness was swallowed by darkness.
His plea went unanswered, and Jigil too was reborn as a bioroid.
Stripped of his free will, reduced to one of Fuudra's pawns…
Thus, the situation entered its final stage.
◆◆◆
It was the fifth day since Veldora and the others had arrived in this world.
The sizzling sound of something grilling echoed through the air.
By this point, anyone could have guessed.
It was Veldora.
Veldora was grilling meat on that iron plate again.
"HOLY—!! You, you absolute—!!"
It went without saying who screamed.
It was Zaza.
The moment he entered the camp with the rearguard, he was greeted by that sight, and he lost all composure.
"KYAAAA-HAHAHAHA! Zaza, you're late! I've already started! But don't worry—I saved your share, of course!"
Veldora said with a grin.
It was, needless to say, deliberate provocation.
He was teasing Zaza, who couldn't eat.
"Will you cut it out?! Every single time you grill something on that thing, something absolutely insane happens!! That iron plate—isn't it actually cursed or something?!"
"How rude! This is a plate I specifically prepared for making my snacks—it's certainly not a cursed item!"
"That's right, Zaza! Master's iron plate is totally normal! But you know, that kind of thing is what they call a 'flag' in stories, right?"
"Pffft, don't say things like that,
"You're right, Master! I'll be careful!"
"Mmm! That's the spirit!"
Listening to Veldora and Ramiris, Zaza felt his irritation drain away.
Only then did he finally regain his composure and voice his biggest question.
"In the first place, in a contaminated place like this, how are you even cooking me—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
In his anger, he hadn't noticed, but the scene around him was utterly abnormal.
After parting with Michel, Zaza and the others had followed the underground passages to the surface, heading for another safe house Michel had prepared.
With nearly a thousand people on the move, their pace was slow.
On top of that, moving on the surface was a heavy burden.
Everyone was wearing protective suits scavenged from supply points along the underground passages.
The suits had a structure similar to space suits, allowing the wearer to receive nutritional and hydration supplements for up to a week without removing them.
But despite the mechanical assistance, the weight placed a severe burden on the wearers.
Adults could manage, but for children, the strain was even greater.
Some were beginning to show signs of physical deterioration, so they had decided to take a proper rest—but—
In the first place, eating while wearing protective suits was impossible.
As for nutrition, all they could do was take liquid food through a straw.
Without removing the suits, eating the meat Veldora was grilling on his iron plate was completely out of the question.
And this location was on the surface.
The atmosphere was contaminated with radioactive materials and toxic gases.
Removing the suits under such conditions would be suicide, and grilling meat in this environment was the act of someone completely out of their mind.
And yet—
Right now, before Zaza's eyes—
Children were happily eating the grilled meat and vegetables.
(What the hell is going on?)
Zaza was utterly dumbfounded.
"I know it's hard to believe, but Zaza, sir—this entire surrounding area seems to be uncontaminated for some reason…?"
Karman, a member of the rear guard who was equally stunned, reported the results of his component analysis to Zaza.
Zaza was shocked and turned to Rindou, the vanguard captain, for answers.
"R-Rindou! What on earth is going on here?"
"Oh man, this is really, really delicious!"
"You idiot! That's not what I'm asking!!"
"HAHAHA! Just kidding, Zaza, sir. You see, Veldora suddenly said, 'Since it's a rare picnic, why don't we have a barbecue right here? The weather's perfect!'"
"Of course it was him!"
"Yes. And I was suspicious about the weather being good and all, but—"
Now that he mentioned it, Zaza also noticed the area was strangely bright.
His mechanized vision had actually made him slower to notice.
Overhead, sunlight was streaming down—a light none of them had seen in years.
"—Is that… the sun?!"
Zaza looked up in astonishment.
There it was—the sun, blazing with a brilliance that dazzled the eyes.
The sun, which should have been hidden behind thick clouds, was peeking through gaps in the cloud cover.
In truth, Veldora had secretly used his ability to blow the clouds away and purify the area.
He had then used "Probability Manipulation" to prevent contaminated material from drifting in.
It was an absolutely absurd feat, but only Ramiris and
"I can't believe it. The sun!? Combined with this area's abnormal environment—what's going on…"
Zaza and the others were stunned.
But Rindou was calm.
"There's no point overthinking it. According to Veldora, 'I got lucky! When incredible "probability" stacks up, something like this happening shouldn't be too surprising!' See, all that worrying before suddenly feels pretty stupid, doesn't it?"
He said it with a grin.
(AS IF THAT COULD BE TRUE—!!)
Zaza screamed internally.
But the reality was that this place was safe, and everyone had removed their protective suits to enjoy the barbecue.
Rindou was right—it was a sight that made previous worries feel foolish.
Zaza returned to Veldora's side.
Without doing anything in particular, he sat down against a rock and observed Veldora.
Veldora was cheerfully grilling meat—where he had even gotten it from was a mystery, and what kind of meat it was, nobody knew—on that iron plate.
Karman sat down next to Zaza and offered him a cigar.
"Sorry, and thanks."
"Don't mention it. Hey, Zaza, sir—I've been thinking. That guy is actually pretty amazing, isn't he?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I've been thinking the same thing. I hate to admit it, but his boundless cheerfulness really has helped us out. It's just… acknowledging that freely is frustrating, you know? The guy's an absolute troublemaker, after all…"
"True enough. When Michel arrived, he was making hotcakes or something on that same iron plate, wasn't he?"
"Right? And the meat—where did he even get it? The more you think about him, the more of a mystery he becomes. I honestly don't know how to deal with the guy."
"Ha ha ha! He doesn't seem like a bad person, but still… What was it—a 'flag,' was it? Jokes aside, what if something really does happen again?"
"Oh, come on, knock it off, Karman. Everyone right now has, against all reason, taken off their protective suits! If something happens, there's no way we can respond—"
And just as Zaza said that—
Karman's expression froze.
"Hey, hey. Even jokes about that aren't funny, you know?"
Zaza laughed and patted Karman's shoulder, then followed his gaze and—
He saw it.
Something that should have been dwelling in an otherworld beneath the earth. A being of supernatural power—an enemy of all humanity.
Its name was—a Super Beast.
"I TOLD YOU!! That iron plate IS cursed!!"
Zaza's scream rang out across the land.
And the area was suddenly plunged into chaotic tension by the unexpected arrival of the Super Beast.