The Bloodstained Market Part 2

"There are a lot of pretty little Gollems here, hehe... It's a horrible waste, isn't

it? Should I trash them all? Should I smash them all? Should I turn everyone

here into sticky, squishy messes...? Who doesn't want to get hurt by mommy

Luna?" The smiling, bloodstained woman finally identified herself as she folded

up her umbrella.

"Viola, sweetie. Please go right ahead."

"Beep."

The small Gollem leaped down into the marketplace. It swung down the

oversized scythe as it landed, cleaving one of the massive display Gollems in

half. Whoa, that's some edge!

"What the...?!" The man who was selling the now-bisected Gollem looked on

in shock. The purple Gollem then transformed the scythe into a naginata spear

and thrust it deep into the salesman's chest.

"Whuh...?" The weapon slid back out of him and he fell to the ground, blood

gurgling from the gaping wound in his torso. People in the area began to scream

at the sudden, unexpected kill.

The screams quickly chained from person to person, and everyone began to

run in all directions.

"Rouge!"

"Acknowledged." At Nia's command, the red crown turned to face the purple

crown down. Rouge launched a punch, which Viola blocked with the handle of

its weapon.

"Ohoho? Little red's here...? I wonder why..." Luna tilted her head softly

before staring over at us.

"You bitch! What are you and that purple thing doing here?!"

"My, my... It's little Nia... What a funny little coincidence, hehe... Or maybe

this was fate." Rouge and Viola continued to clash in the marketplace, as the

woman named Luna drew out an exaggerated look of surprise.

Rouge didn't have a weapon on hand, so it was fighting at a disadvantage

against Viola. Plus it was so small, so it was majorly lacking in reach as well.

They were both crowns, so they were probably evenly matched... Which meant

the presence of a weapon could have been the deciding factor.

Rouge was trying to lead the fight to a less populated area, but it was

struggling. Every time Rouge dodged an attack, Viola brought its weapon

carelessly crashing down. With each new strike, more innocent bystanders were

sliced into meaty chunks, and more Gollems were reduced to scrap metal.

Blood, guts, and robotic components soared through the air with each

successive slash.

"Kohaku, Luli! Get people to safety, now!"

"As you command!"

"Very well!" Kohaku and Luli returned to their Divine Beast forms, moving to

rescue any stunned or fallen people in the area.

Viola continued to recklessly attack Rouge, without any consideration for its

surroundings.

"Luna! Stop Viola at once! Why are you doing this?!"

"Hmm? What do you mean by why? I don't understand you at all, cute widdle

Nia... I'm only here because it's a fun party, don't you think...?" Luna tilted her

head to the side again. Her behavior was... Weird, honestly. She was freaking

me out.

"It's oh so fun, don't you think? Gouging out eyes, I mean... Everyone's eyes

are so different. Don't you think they're pretty? There are red eyes and blue

eyes... All kinds of eyes! The only bad part about them is how quickly they

shrivel and rot... But... Mmf... Ahhh... Gouging them out is so fun that it makes

me oh so quivery and shivery between my legs...!"

"You bitch...!" Pointless talking to her... I don't know if she actually means the

weird crap she just said, but this is clearly a dangerous situation... Despite the

ongoing carnage, the girl continued to walk down the steps while waving her

umbrella around.

I moved forward, intent on taking Luna out, but the ground suddenly began to

shake. A group of men and two large Gollems stomped out in front of the

woman. They were the guards from the Casino entrance... That probably meant

they worked for Black Papillon.

"Hey, psycho! Call off your Gollem now!"

"And if I say no?"

"Then you can fuckin' die!" The man ordered his Gollem to swing its fist down

upon Luna, and it obeyed. The three-meter tall Gollem struck the girl directly in

the chest. A sickening crack rang out as her ribcage was caved inward, and she

was blown backward into the wall. Her body rolled along the ground like a

ragdoll. The attack had instantly killed her.

"What a fool she was... Now take care of that purple Gollem, and hurry up!"

The huge Gollem stomped its way over to Viola.

"...That's pointless, silly. Viola can't break... Viola is Viola, after all..."

"What the...?!" Luna slowly rose from where she'd fallen. Her arms were

snapped and bent backward, and one of her shins was bent at an angle.

A strange purple smoke rose from her body, and I heard the sounds of

mending, clipping flesh and bone. Her limbs snapped back into their proper

positions.

"How did she do that...?"

"That's the purple crown's ability. Its master is granted an immortal body...

And the crown itself can regenerate as well." An immortal body...? Is she

undead or something? Gross! I nodded along to Euri's explanation, when

suddenly Rouge was struck by Viola's weapon, causing Nia to scream.

"Rouge!" Nia dashed toward Rouge, a look of horror on her face.

Viola turned around, ignoring the other crown and its master, before setting

its sights on the massive Gollem headed toward it.

The purple Gollem dodged the lumbering fist with ease and brought its

weapon, now transformed back into a scythe, slicing through the giant's body.

A screech of metal sliding against metal echoed out as the Gollem fell apart.

"You sillies... How boring can you be...? Why don't you try killing me, you old

grumps? But I bet you can't lay a hand on me..."

"Bitch...!" One of the guards charged forward and thrust his spear toward

Luna. It sank deep into her chest, and the bloody tip spurted out of her back.

"H-Heh... There, take that... I killed you... How do you like th— Wha?!"

"So boring... It's just so boring, ehehe..." Luna shrugged off the hit like it was

nothing, and gripped the spear embedded in her front. She jerked her wrist and

snapped the weapon like it was a toothpick. What the hell?!

I remembered that some undead species had their mental limiters removed,

giving them reckless levels of muscle strain that they couldn't tap into while

they were alive... I wondered if it was the same for this woman.

"Hmph!" Luna reached into her own torso and pulled the spear back through

her body. She then twirled it around and drove it into the horrified face of the

guard she'd been attacked by, pulverizing his brains.

"Here's your weapon back, cutie!" The man fell to the ground like a sack of

bricks, blood spilling from his head. The girl smiled wide as she spun around and

thrust her umbrella at another guard, who was frozen in fear.

"Hngh?!" A crumpling sound reverberated as the umbrella stalled, bent... And

after a little more force, burst out of the man's back.

"Aww... It broke. That was my favorite umbrella too, you old meanie... It's all

your fault, you know...? How about you say sorry by letting mommy Luna dig

your eyeballs out?" The immobilized man began to weep in despair as the girl's

slender fingers reached out toward his face.

"[Teleport]." I teleported toward the girl and grasped her hand. It was slick

with blood. I could feel her struggle against me. Holy shit, she's strong... Just

where the hell is she keeping power like this in a body like that?!

"Goodness me... Where did you come from...?" The purple girl looked at me

through her glasses. She seemed confused. I placed my other hand on the

wounded man and invoked recovery magic.

"Oh my... Mister... Who are you? Do you have a problem with mommy

Luna...?"

"I don't know why you're doing this, but I can't just sit by and watch you kill

anyone else. Even if I have to use force, I'll stop you."

"Ahahahaaaa! So weiiird! Why would you even do that? And how...?"

"Like this... [Gravity]." I flowed magic through the hand that grasped her

wrist, and she began to collapse until she was completely immobilized.

"Oh goodness... What's all this...? I can't even move..."

"Now! Get her!" The guards immediately charged her and moved to restrain

her. But the purple Gollem noticed what was happening, and leaped to its

master's side. The sickle flashed in the dim light of the room as it swung around.

"Guh!" I jumped backward a good distance to avoid its scythe, but the guards

weren't so lucky. They fell to the ground, their innards spilling out all over the

place.

"Beep." The purple Gollem made a robotic noise as it transformed its scythe

into a naginata once again. I instinctively took out Brunhild from my waist and

transformed it into Blade Mode, then swung back against the weapon as it

came soaring toward me.

"Be-Beep?" Viola stopped for a moment, realizing that my Phrasium blade

had actually broken the handle of the spear. I charged forward, using the

opening as a chance to slash the Gollem itself.

Viola shuddered and fell silent, cleaved clean in half. Both parts of the little

machine rolled inactively on the ground. "Phew..." I let out a heavy breath

before getting my bearings. There were dead people everywhere. Just as I was

about to start treating the injured with my magic...

"Eheheheee! Wow, mister! You really cut Viola, huh?" The woman was

clapping loudly. I turned around in surprise and found that Luna was still on the

ground, but she was clapping her hands.

That's impossible. I haven't canceled my spell, how is she moving?!

"Hey... Mister... Can you tell me your name?"

"...It's Touya. Mochizuki Touya."

"Touuuuya? Oooh, Touya...? That's such a pretty name... It's so nice... You

know, Tou... It seems like you might even be a match for mommy Luna... But

not now, what a shame... We can't do it today, okay? If it's okay, could I ask

that you kill me another time? In a better place?"

"Sorry, but I'm not really trying to make a habit of killing people."

"Oh my...? You're so shy, mister... That's kinda charming too, though... Say, do

you want mommy Luna to give you a spanking? What do you think, Viola?"

Luna suddenly looked right past me. I turned around in horror, to find Viola

standing behind me. It was fully formed, regenerated just like Luna. Its weapon

was still damaged, though.

"What...?!" Seriously?! The purple crown regenerates that fast?! Holy shit... I

need to take this thing out in another way, I guess...

"Viola really likes you too, Tou... Ehehe... I'm really happy we got to meet

you."

"Don't mess with us, you maniaaac!" A burning red fist slammed into Viola

from the side. The impact caused the purple Gollem to slam into a nearby wall,

leaving a dent in it.

Blood Rouge, the red crown, was standing tall and righteous. Its arms were

engulfed in flames. It chased after its target and continued to attack.

Each follow-up punch landed with enough force to shake the entire casino.

It's like Rouge was a completely different machine. What the hell is going on

here? "You purple witch... I'll get you back for what you did to me and Rouge!"

"Oh dear, little Nia... Could you maybe stop being a pain?" Nia stomped out in

front of Luna, who was pouting. When I saw Nia's state, my eyes went wide in

shock.

"Wh-What the... Nia... Your hand..." A steady stream of blood was dripping

from Nia's balled-up fist. She clearly had a massive gash in the middle of her

palm... So much of the sanguine liquid was coming out that her entire fist was

dyed red.

"Please don't worry. My blood is necessary to trigger Rouge's skill."

"But..." I couldn't ignore that at all, so I cast restoration magic on Nia's hand.

The wound wasn't too deep, so it closed up without too much hassle.

"Your magic is incredible, Touya..."

"It only patched up the wound, it didn't restore any of the blood you lost... So

don't overdo it." Luna, who had been watching us, suddenly blushed and stared

at me with her dead, doll-like eyes.

"Oh my! Magic! You're a mage, Tou? You're really a mage? Ohhh... Aaah...

That's so nice, that's... Mfff... That's so good! I'm getting wet... Aaah...!" What

the hell are you moaning about?! What the hell?! I looked at her with a

disturbed expression on my face as she slowly rose up and bashfully hugged her

own body. Then her hands slid down between her thighs.

Holy shit you're actually worse than Cesca.

"She's a perverted psycho..."

"That's just one of my charming features, cutie! Ahh, ohhh... Ahhn... My

heart's going so fast! Gosh... I feel even hotter than I do when I pluck out

people's eyes... That's amazing... I'm dripping..." Luna started talking nonsense

before directing her gaze toward me. Her breath was growing increasingly sharp

and ragged.

"...Mm... Let me eat you..." A chill ran right up my spine, and I shuddered as

she said that. I didn't want to hear that from her. Frankly, she was some kind of

undead, and her saying that brought zombie movies more to mind than

anything else.

Luna dashed toward me in a mere matter of seconds. I tried to step back, but

she grabbed me and caught my leg between her thighs. Her speed was

immense... I was completely sandwiched by her freakish strength.

Luna's breath became more hoarse and ragged as she gasped and moaned,

grinding her crotch up against my thigh.

"Please kill me next time... Mmff..." After she spoke, she stuck out her tongue

and slowly dragged it along my cheek.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing to him?!"

"Ehehe, are you jealous, Nia?!" Nia charged forward to hit Luna, but she

parted from my side and dodged it with little difficulty.

"Viola! Time to go!" Viola turned away from its ongoing conflict with Rouge

and jumped toward its master. Luna then hopped on to its shoulders as they

began to escape. It looked ridiculous, like a little kid giving a piggyback.

"I had fun today! See you later!" Luna blew a kiss as Viola emitted a purple

mist from its wrist. I immediately realized that it was bad news.

"Gather forth, Water! Swirling Shield: [Aqua Shell]!" I summoned a glob of

water that sucked up all the mist. The smoke began to mix with the water until

it turned a very foul color. I then carefully moved the water and placed it in a

pot of flowers.

Just as I did that, the flowers in the pot shriveled up and died. I knew it, it was

some kind of toxin.

Luna and her Gollem had escaped. What the hell just happened... That was

seriously nuts...

"Tsk... That damn woman escaped again...!" Nia yelled and kicked at the

ground out of frustration. I could understand her feelings.

Oh, that's right... I gotta use my magic to heal any wounded survivors...

Huh...? As I started to walk, I felt a strange sensation on one of my legs. I

looked down.

"...Eugh..." There was a sticky, damp stain on my right thigh. Don't tell me...

I grimaced when I realized what it was. I slowly turned to Nia, who was also

grimacing.

I moved toward her, but she held up her palms as if to ward me off.

"Sorry, I don't wanna catch cooties."

Wow, they even have the concept of cooties in this world... Damn, this day has

been horrible.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Come forth, Light! Neutral Therapy: [Area Heal]." I quietly cast a wide-range

recovery spell on everyone in the black market... I didn't want to draw attention

to myself, after all. But it might have been a bit late for that.

There weren't as many dead people as I'd initially assumed, thankfully... It

seemed like Rouge had successfully held Viola back from doing the worst it

could've done. But that was only the case for the basement.

Euri went up to confirm it and reported back that the upper level was like a

vision of hell itself. Everyone was dead. Bits of guts, bone, and brains were

strewn all over.

I didn't want Nia, Rouge, and Euri getting any undue attention. They were

members of the Red Cats, after all. I used [Gate] to covertly return us to the

hideout.

Once we got back there, Euri made some tea. I sipped at it and finally

reflected on what was going on.

"That Gollem was... Terrifyingly strong." Euri had warned me about the

crown's regeneration, but it was far more intense than I'd thought. Viola

seemed to be about as good as regenerating as the Phrasium armor on the

custom Frame Gears.

Or maybe it was even stronger than that... I sliced it in half, and it came back

like it was nothing. That wasn't just a regular regeneration, it was way faster

and way more intense. I had no idea how to even take down something with an

ability like that.

"So that's the kind of thing the crowns are capable of..." I shuddered. Nia

glanced to Rouge, then to me. She spoke up.

"Crown Gollems possess incredible power, but they demand a price from

their masters. There are risks. Her immortality doesn't come without a cost."

"What kind of cost?"

"Rouge, for example, is capable of generating flames and gaining strength

directly proportional to the amount of blood that I feed it. The more blood I

spill, the stronger it grows. My father, the former leader of the Red Cats...

That's how he died. He gave as much blood as his life would allow, to turn

Rouge into an unstoppable force." A blood pact?! What the hell... He died to

that? Preserved blood didn't cut it, either. It had to be freshly spilled blood. I

remembered hearing that a human would die if they lost a third of their blood,

so her father must have gone over that limit...

"Then what's the price paid for the purple crown...?"

"I'm not entirely certain if this is true... But I heard that the price is sanity.

They slowly reach new depths of depravity and madness, until eventually...

Once they don't remember who they are anymore, or what they're doing, Viola

will end them and seek a new master. They say that only the purple crown can

kill the purple master. From what I understand, Viola has killed each and every

one of its previous masters. That's the penalty for a body that can't be killed

any other way." Does that mean her crazy attitude was because she's been

losing her mind to the crown...? Maybe... But it kind of felt like she still had her

personality...

"Despite their bodies, the purple masters tend to have the shortest lives. The

other crown masters like me don't really need to worry about dying, so long as

they live carefully, but the purple masters have their deaths all but

guaranteed." I wondered how the immortal bodies were even granted... Was it

magic, perhaps? I thought maybe she was undead, and that seemed like the

closest approximation. She had dull, lifeless eyes, after all.

Purple masters would lose their sanity until all semblance of reason was

stripped from their minds... They'd descend into madness, and then be put

down by the source of it.

I opened up my map and ran a search for Luna's location. Nothing came up.

She was probably carrying an artifact or something around that prevented her

from being traced. It wouldn't have surprised me if there were Gollems in this

world with abilities similar to my [Search] spell. When you thought about it, the

Gollem's singular abilities were similar to people's unique Null spells.

According to Nia, she was also in possession of an item that could alter the

memories of those she encountered, resulting in survivors of her attacks only

recalling a purple crown and a "frenzied mistress." The people she caused to

blackout in fear were usually the ones that were left alive, and the ones with

hazy memories. The fear remained inscribed into them, and even asking them

about what happened is enough to send them into shock. It seemed like Luna

and her crown were like wandering reapers. But eventually Luna herself would

end up the target of a culling...

Gollems from the crown series seemed like double-edged swords. I was kind

of concerned that the Etoiles might have had similar drawbacks...

"The Etoile Gollems don't have any trade-off, don't worry. Crowns are just

complete exceptions. The stories go that the crowns were created by a Gollem

engineer named Chrom Ranchesse, but the stories also go that the man was

completely insane. He lived in the ancient civilization that was destroyed." I felt

a strange sense of déjà vu upon hearing that. I wondered if the template for

geniuses somehow overlapped with the template for complete weirdoes...

Doctor Babylon was useless for anything besides research and inventing...

Recently that old coot had installed a camera in the girl's bathroom... I caught

her peeping on my fiancées and cackling like an old man... Naturally, I smacked

her over the head and told her to remove it.

I pulled out the three Gollems I'd purchased from my [Storage]. I wasn't able

to store living, or at least sentient, beings with my magic. I'd tried storing the

Babylon mini-bots in there once, and it just didn't work. It was probable that

after I activated these three, I wouldn't be able to put them back inside... But I

needed Nia to tell me how to turn them on to begin with.

I opened the display case and took out the red-themed Gollem. It was

definitely child-sized... It was actually shorter than Rouge, now that I got a

closer look.

It had a feminine form, specifically a young girl's body. Its base color was

white all over. It didn't have any human facial features other than a face. No

ears, no nose, no mouth. It was kind of like it was wearing a mask... she didn't

look uncanny or anything. Its features were still human.

"Wow... It really does look human-like..." Euri muttered quietly while

inspecting the Gollem.

These Gollems were probably not designed for combat. This type was often

more intelligent than standard Gollems and was probably created with a

humanoid appearance so they could look after children or mind houses.

Even though Rouge and Viola were humanoid too, these Etoiles were not clad

in armor, so they looked a lot more like people than the crowns did.

But to be honest, I was too used to the Babylon sisters. Whenever Nia or Euri

commented on how human the Etoiles looked, I just didn't buy it.

"So, how do you activate them?"

"You're supposed to place your hand on the chest area, release a little of your

magic, and say 'Open.'" I didn't understand, but I did as I was told.

"Open." A small whoosh of shifting air came from the Etoile as her chest

opened up. The interior was full of peculiar machinery. There was a dice-like

cube in there that glowed bright green, it was contained inside a strange glass

container that resembled a softball.

"The cube is called a G-Cube. It's a Gollem's core. Put your hand in and pull it

out." I reached out to the glassy surface of the circular container and found my

fingers passing through it. It was gross... Kind of like dipping my hand into a jar

of Vaseline. The sticky liquid engulfed all my digits.

I pulled my hand out with the tiny emerald cube, and strangely enough none

of the weird liquid came out with it. It felt really weird.

"So long as the G-Cube remains, you can reconstruct a Gollem around it. It

loses its memories and skills, though. Those things are stored in the Q-Crystal,

located within the head." It seemed like the Q-Crystal operated as the brain,

while the G-Crystal operated as the heart. Those combined with bodies crafted

in the ancient civilization made up the Legacy Gollems.

You could create a new Gollem by incorporating just the Q-Crystal from a

Legacy Gollem, but the end result would be vastly inferior to the original.

Plus, it seemed that Gollems, when inactive for a period of a few hundred

years or so, periodically reset their memories. That was why there weren't

really any Legacy Gollems with memories of how the ancient civilization used to

be.

"So, what do I do with this?"

"You need to register as the Gollem's master using the G-Cube. It needs to

take in some of your genetic info. Anything should be fine, a bit of hair or a

fingernail clipping should be enough." I pulled a strand of hair out of my head

and pressed it against the G-Cube. The strand slowly melted into it and

vanished.

I put the G-Cube back into its container and locked its chest back up.

In order to steal someone else's Gollem, you needed to overwrite the

registration with your own genetics. You had to shut down the Gollem and open

it up, too... Which was definitely difficult. Most Gollems would definitely resist

having their master changed, after all.

Even taking someone's Gollem by force wouldn't do, you'd still need to open

up its chest and override ownership.

Gollems were personal property, so doing that was highly illegal. There were

security measures in place to prevent Gollem theft, but I didn't need to worry

about that right now.

I heard a quiet hum from the Etoile after installing the G-Cube, slowly a faint

red light appeared on her translucent parts. But that was only for a moment,

the lights gradually grew dim.

"Hmm... This isn't right. Usually, it would've started by now."

"I wonder if it's broken, then... The shopkeeper did say something like that."

Hrmm... It did activate for a moment, though... Let's see here... It kind of feels

like an old, broken appliance. Maybe there's a loose connection in there

somewhere? It might take a bit more than a few smacks on the back to fix,

though...

I decided to check it out.

"[Analyze]." I used my magic to get a feel for the Gollem's structure. I didn't

have much knowledge about it, so I didn't really know what most of what I

learned meant.

But I could understand how the magic flow inside it worked. The magic flow

from the G-Cube wasn't reaching the Q-Crystal, which was probably the issue.

There was a blockage around the neck area. It was kind of like a blood vessel

blockage in humans... But that kind of thing would be lethal if it happened to a

person.

I walked around the Gollem and checked its neck. I noticed a small, clear

cube-shaped protrusion about one centimeter in diameter.

I pushed it. Nothing happened. It didn't really look like a switch. I used

[Analysis] on it, which showed me that there was a small magical barrier

around it, disrupting the flow of magic around the Gollem's neck.

Is this a safety mechanism or something? Maybe if I'd bought it legally, I

would've gotten a key to disable this part or something.

Let's see if I can't do something about this...

"[Cracking]." I began to work myself into the Gollem's startup procedures. My

Null spell completely overrode the activation requirements for the Etoile unit in

front of me. It was impossible to modify the entire thing, but I was able to

modify the small portion that kept the little barrier active.

Once the barrier was removed, the magic flow managed to move upward to

the head. Then, the clear reddish parts all over the Etoile's body began to light

up softly. The magic must have reached the Q-Crystal.

"Oh, it moved."

"Wow, you did it!" The two of them cheered, but were promptly cut off by a

voice that came from the Etoile.

"Activating... Activating... Model Number ETA-01 has been formally activated.

All systems nominal. Register master name, and machine name." Ooh, it's

talking. Or... Well, I guess it feels more like a recorded message.

"Uhh... Master name is Mochizuki Touya. Machine name is... Uhh... Hold

on..." Etoile meant star, so I wanted to give her a name related to astronomy.

A few famous red stars from my old world were Antares from the Scorpius

Constellation and Betelgeuse from the Orion constellation. None of those

names sounded particularly girly, though.

I guess it doesn't have to be a star name.

"Uhm... Your name is Ruby, then."

"Understood. Change in master registration is ongoing. Reboot initiated." I'd

given Kohaku and the others names based on rare minerals and stones, too. So I

figured naming the Gollems that way would be fine. Kougyoku's name kind of

meant ruby too... But that wasn't a big deal.

It went without saying that I'd call the other two Sapphire and Emerald... But

they were a little long. Saph and Emerl were probably enough.

Ruby stopped moving for a brief moment, then made a low noise. It turned its

head toward me.

"Can you understand me?"

"Ping." Ruby nodded toward me. Huh, she can't talk? But she spoke earlier.

"This Gollem probably has intuitive learning. It'll only have limited noises and

motions to begin with, but it should be able to learn over time without an

issue." As Nia spoke, Rouge nodded along. In a sense, she was kind of like an

infant right now, so I'd need to dedicate some time to her development and

education.

...Is it gonna be safe to entrust something so infantile to Doctor Babylon...? I

don't really trust her with child-rearing.

"Oh well, that sounds fine. Nice to meet you, Ruby."

"Ping." Ruby nodded again. Is she gonna be able to talk down the line...? I

wonder if I can get the doctor to modify her so she learns faster... But maybe

that's a little unethical?

I was about to activate the blue Etoile, Saph when Nia suddenly interjected

and told me something interesting.

I was told that when registering a Gollem, it was best to have only one per

person. It was possible for signal interference to kick in if you had more than

one Gollem under your command, which had a severe impact on performance.

For example, if you ordered Gollem A to move to the left, and Gollem B to

move to the right, the interference might cause the Gollems to obey the wrong

orders, or just not even move at all.

That could cause a fatal mistake in a combat situation.

But apparently, if the Gollems were of the same type and manufacturer,

signal interference was much less likely. Since all three of these were Etoiles, it

was statistically less likely that their orders would get messed up... But the

chance wasn't zero, so I was told to keep it in mind.

I overrode Emerl and Saph in much the same way using [Cracking], then

registered myself as master.

"Nice to meet you both."

"Pong."

"Pang." Ruby said ping, Saph said pong, and Emerl said pang, apparently.

I decided to test out the signal interference to make sure things were alright.

"Ruby, raise your right hand. Saph, raise your left hand. Emerl, raise both your

hands." I gave them all conflicting orders, but they followed them without any

issues. It seemed like there wasn't an issue.

These three reminded me of the ninja trio. Sarutobi Homura, Kirigakure

Shizuku, and Fuma Nagi. Mostly because the names were associated with fire,

water, and wind... And it kind of went with the whole red, blue, green theming.

I wondered about entrusting the Gollems to those three girls... That probably

wasn't possible, though. The idea of Ninja Gollems sounded cool, though...

Plus I'd purchased these three to get them to guard the Dimensional

Disruptor, anyway.

... It feels a bit late to ask this, but... Are they even gonna be able to protect

the place? These Etoiles seemed more suited to caring for people and nursing...

I had no idea if they were good for combat. It was a tad too late to worry about

it, I decided to make it work. They'd probably be fine if I equipped them with

some decent weapons...

It would probably be fine. I decided not to worry about it. My focus now was

finding a place to install the Dimensional Disruptor, anyways. An uninhabited

place would probably be best.

If there was a place similar to Dragoness Island like in the regular world,

that'd be pretty good. I didn't think anyone would approach something like

that.

I asked if there was any place like that. The answer I got was unexpected.

"...There's a place like that?"

"If you're talking about an island of Dragons... Then yeah. Drakliff Island.

Nobody ever goes there because it's full of raging Dragons. Their nest is there."

The name was kinda similar. I looked it up on my map. If I looked at it

compared to the regular world, it was found in the middle of the landlocked sea

that bordered Hannock, Roadmare, Yulong, and Regulus. It was a little smaller

than Brunhild.

Hmm... Nobody checking it out because of Dragons is pretty convenient... Luli

might be able to help me with negotiations, too.

"Will the Dragons of this world listen to you?"

"If there are Ancient or Elder Dragons, then it should be quite fine... I think, at

least. But if the island only has young Dragons that aren't aware of my

existence, we may see resistance. If that's the case, then leave it to me... I'll be

able to overwhelm them and dominate them by force."

That seemed to make sense. Young Dragons certainly seemed trigger-happy.

They were a species with long lifespans, so their youths were much longer. A

one-hundred-year-old Dragon was about as reasonable as a ten-year-old

human. If there were only young Dragons, then Luli would just have to assert

her dominance. Hopefully, the elders would be around, though. I didn't want it

to come to that.

Still, if we could get the support of the Dragons of this world, they'd make

excellent guards.

"Alright, guess I'll head there. Thanks for your help, seriously."

"We'd also like to thank you for teaching us magic. Are you sure we can keep

these, though?" Nia gestured toward the spellstone fragments and the

beginner's book of spells I'd left behind for them.

"I don't mind it, I got that book when I was starting out as well. You won't be

able to read the words unless you wear these glasses, though." I handed the

translator glasses over to Nia. The basic spells of all six schools of magic were

covered by the book, so I thought she'd find it useful.

"Just a reminder, though... Be careful with who you teach, alright? My own

teachers taught me that magic is something you use to bring joy to others, not

misery." I'd called them my teachers, but they were Linze and Leen, my

fiancées.

"I understand. I swear on the name of the Red Cats, the name of we

chivalrous thieves. We'll only make villains cry with our spells." Nia grinned

widely. I trusted her not to abuse the power, so it would be fine. Or rather, I

trusted Est to keep her in line.

I left the tent. I wanted to fly straight to the island with Luli, but it'd be too

conspicuous if I rode her here. Anyone in the vicinity would probably discover

this place if they saw strange things flying out of the fort.

I decided to use [Teleport] to leave instead.

"Alright, I'm off. Hope we can meet again."

"Okay!" I shook hands with the two girls, then used [Teleport] to reach some

nearby mountains. I thought about teleporting directly to the island, but I didn't

want to get the location wrong and teleport into the sea. Better to be safe than

sorry, after all.

I had Luli transform into her Heavenly Beast form, and I hopped on to her

back along with Kohaku, Ruby, and the other Gollems. I cast [Invisible] to keep

us concealed.

"Let's depart, my lord." Luli flew up into the air, and we began flying

northward.

Our destination was Drakliff island.

I hoped the Dragons in this world were more reasonable than the ones in the

world I'd come from.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Grauuuuuurgh!" A massive Copper Dragon stood before us on the sandy

beach. It raised a deafening roar.

I had a vague idea of what it was saying, but I checked just to be sure.

"What did he say...?"

"He said... Keep out of my way or I'll kill you." Luli let out a small sigh as she

sat perched on my shoulder.

We were currently in a small fishing village near Drakliff island.

I was going to get a little bit of information on the island before heading

directly there, but just as I started asking around, this Copper Dragon had come

down and started to attack the town.

Luli and I stepped in to interfere, and then it began roaring.

"Does it have a reason for attacking the town? Did the people here do

something bad?"

"No, it seems to be yelling at us for interfering with its playtime." It's just

playing around? Just like that goddamn Black Dragon... Do the Dragons in this

world look down on other species, too? Sure they're strong, but this is still a little

much...

"He's young, then?"

"Yes. In human terms, he's equivalent to sixteen or so. He has all that power,

but doesn't have much in the way of empathy." I couldn't stand for this Dragon

coming in and messing with people just for fun. Several houses had already

been burned to a crisp, but thankfully nobody had died.

"Can you tell him to go back to the island, or not?"

"I don't think he's going to listen..." Luli tried speaking to the Dragon in their

mother tongue, but it responded by roaring even angrier. Then, without much

warning, it spewed out a massive fireball in our direction.

"[Absorb]." The blazing fire breath dispersed into the air, vanishing like a fine

mist. The spell I'd invoked rendered magic attacks inert, and turned them into

my own power.

For the most part, Dragon breath was internal magical combustion that used

the magic supply of the Dragon spewing it out. That's why absorbing it was

pretty easy.

"No point in talking, huh? I guess we don't need to hold back, then."

"My lord... Can I slice this one to pieces already? I can't stand how it's treating

you... For it to be talking to you like that." I wasn't too surprised by Kohaku's

behavior here. She was on the verge of exploding. She didn't understand the

Dragon's language or anything, but she could tell that the enemy was probably

badmouthing me pretty badly.

I could see her crouching down, as if preparing to pounce.

"Please wait a moment, Kohaku. Let me deal with it, alright? I will discipline

this improper child."

"...Hmph. Don't hold back just because it's one of yours."

"I never hold back, Kohaku. I'm not like you." Luli flew from my shoulder and

returned to her true form. She was a beautiful Blue Dragon, now on full display

along the beach.

The Copper Dragon saw her transform, which caused it to back away in slight

fear.

"Gaauuuuuuuugh!" The Copper Dragon let out another roar in a futile

attempt to intimidate her. She ignored it, but I noticed one of her eyes

twitched... Did it make you mad...? What did it say? Luli suddenly inhaled, then

let loose a flame far more intense than the one the Copper Dragon had

breathed earlier.

The Copper Dragon was engulfed in the azure flame until it was reduced to

charcoal. After a small time, its entire form crumbled away. G-Geez...

"...You might've overdone it a bit."

"I had no mercy for one as insolent as him. There's a limit to ignorance, and

he insulted you rather dearly." Ahh... So that last roar must have been some

serious badmouthing... Luli definitely had a calm and collected façade, but she

was definitely fiery when she wanted to be. I kind of saw that regularly in her

arguments with Kohaku, anyway.

I was glad she was angry for me, but... She completely wrecked that animal. I

felt kind of bad for it.

There was no point worrying about it, though. He was burning up the village,

so I guess he had it coming to him.

"Let's just head to the island for now. If we can talk to an Ancient or Elder

Dragon, maybe we can find someone who will listen to reason."

"Indeed, I hope so. Let us hope this child was just an outlier." I hopped on to

Luli's back with Kohaku and the Etoiles, and we made off for the island.

After a while, a small landmass came into view. It must have been Drakliff

island.

There are a lot of Dragons flying over there... Oh, they're coming this way... I

heard a lot of roaring, and we quickly found ourselves surrounded.

"This doesn't exactly feel all that friendly..."

"They've come out to intimidate us. They're all young ones, seemingly friends

of the copper."

"Tell them I'd like to talk to whoever rules their island."

"Very well." Luli turned to the surrounding Dragons and let out a shriek,

which elicited a series of roars from them. Oh geez... They're so loud.

"They're saying there's no reason for us to meet with the elder, they're

suspicious of strangers."

"...They really can't hold a simple conversation, huh?" Luli was a creature that

reigned as the apex of the Dragon race, but apparently, her lack of

manifestation in this world for such a long time had caused their knowledge of

her to wane. It made sense that she wouldn't have come here much, though.

There wasn't much magic, so who would have been able to summon her?

The Elder would probably know about her, but these ignorant young ones

were holding us back for the time being. It was kind of annoying.

"What should we do?"

"For now, fly straight toward the island. We'll break through and meet the

elder by force."

"Understood." Luli started flying, prompting the surrounding Dragons to pelt

blasts of fire, ice, and lightning at us. I used [Absorb] to nullify each and every

volley they sent.

We landed on the island, but found ourselves met with several tyrannosaurlike Dragons. They were Earth Dragons, a species that didn't have wings.

"Stay your hands, wastrels!" Kohaku leaped down from Luli's back and

transformed into her Heavenly Beast form. Her impact with the ground

generated a massive shockwave, immobilizing the incoming enemies.

"Target Lock! [Gravity]!" I used my smartphone to cast my spell on all the

surrounding Earth Dragons at once.

"Gyraauuugh?!" The collapsed Dragons started screaming out in confusion. I

hadn't added enough weight to kill them. I'd just put them in time-out for a

while.

As I took care of the Earth Dragons, a large one swooped down in front of Luli.

Its green body, all the way from the neck below, was covered in sharp spines. I

remember reading about this one in the guild's bestiary... It's a Spike Dragon.

It was massive. Far more massive than Luli.

"Groaaaaaaar!"

"Gwauuuuuugh!" The Spike Dragon roared, prompting Luli to roar back. My

ears were killing me.

It began to inhale, it was preparing to breathe out an attack. Luli met its

challenge and began to inhale as well.

The two of them shot off their searing breath attacks at the same time. Both

torrents of flame met in the middle, mingling and pushing against the other

until Luli's breath won out. The massive Spike Dragon was roasted alive, falling

down on the spot.

Puffs of smoke floated into the air above its chargrilled corpse.

"Was that the Elder?"

"No, this one's even younger than the one I torched earlier. It was

badmouthing us quite horribly." That one was young? But it was huge! I guess

size isn't an indicator of age when it comes to this species.

Hm? Another Dragon came down toward us from the mountain in the middle

of the island. The other Dragons, which were screaming in the sky, suddenly fell

silent as it came near.

"Ohh...?" I set my eyes on the Dragon that had come out to see us, and

involuntarily let out an amazed sound. This was clearly an Elder Dragon... But it

might've even been an Ancient one.

The silver creature soared through the air with elegance and poise, before

gently settling to the ground near us.

"I cannot contain my joy... For the grand Azure Monarch to appear before

us... To what do we owe such an honor?" The Silver Dragon spoke in eloquent

human tones as it bowed its head. The other Dragons suddenly followed its

examples, landing in the area and bowing their bodies down.

"I am not the Azure Monarch here, my child. You may call me Luli. For that

name was granted to me by my master, Mochizuki Touya." The Silver Dragon

opened its eyes in shock for a moment before turning to me and bowing its

head.

"I beg your pardon for the foolish children of this island..."

"So you should, cur! Do you not know how to discipline...?!" I put my hands

over Kohaku's mouth before she ruined everything. I didn't want her ruining a

delicate situation.

"It's okay, don't mind it. Are you the Dragon that rules this place?"

"I am. I rule this place, and this incident was my mistake. Please forgive me

for being unable to stop the pitiful children..."

... You know, this guy doesn't look so good. He seems kind of low on energy...

Was it because of Kohaku's anger, maybe? No, actually... He was flying slow just

before as well... Is there something wrong with him? Maybe that's why he

hasn't been able to unify the Dragons here.

I squinted and noticed something peculiar about the Silver Dragon's tail.

There was purple discoloration toward the tip. I looked a little closer and

noticed purple splotches all over its tail.

"What's wrong with your tail, exactly?"

"...I am rather ashamed to say it, but around two-hundred years ago, a human

and a mechanical doll inflicted this wound upon me. It remains as a curse that

eats at me even now. I had considered biting off my tail, but I would rather live

in lethargy and pain than forgo my ability to fly." The Silver Dragon looked down

in shame. Forgo your ability to fly? Huh?

"Do Dragons need their tails to fly?"

"Not quite... We rely on the tail to balance ourselves during flight. There are

indeed Dragons that cannot fly, such as Earth Dragons... But Earth Dragon

physiology grants them incredible leg strength. Airborne species lack that kind

of power... Thus if he removed his tail, he would be unable to fly, and unable to

truly thrive on the ground. He wouldn't be a creature you could call a Dragon at

all." Luli explained the situation to me.

Geez... Who would do something like that to the Dragon...? I guess by

mechanical doll he's referring to a Gollem, but I wonder what kind of Gollem

could maim a Dragon like this.

"That Gollem... Er... That mechanical doll... What color was it?"

"As I recall... It was purple... Why?"

Purple... It must have been Fanatic Viola... Given that it was two-hundred

years ago, it was probably serving a different master than Luna, though.

Wait, I shouldn't jump to conclusions. There's no way Viola is the only purple

Gollem in the world. It doesn't mean that a crown did this.

"I'll heal you. Hold still, please."

"Oh?" I walked around to the tail and examined the injury. It was probably a

deep poison. I judged that this kind of thing would kill a human in a matter of

minutes, but the Dragon's body had allowed him to withstand it for over twohundred years. Removing the poison was the first step.

"[Recovery]." I let the magic from my hand into the silver tail, and the tender

purple splotches began to clear up. His beautiful scales began to regain their

silver sheen.

"Come forth, Light! Calm of the Goddess: [Mega Heal]!" I then finished it off

by healing any damage the poison had done to his tail.

"Ooh... My body...! How very refreshing... I feel young again!" The Silver

Dragon roared into the sky, prompting all the other Dragons on the island to

roar along with him.

I'd heard a dog howl before, but Dragons were on a completely different

level. A bunch of Dragons roaring at the same time made the very air quiver.

"Ghhh...!"

"They are singing your praises, my liege. Please forgive them for that." Luli's

telepathy prevented me from grumbling too hard. If they were being polite,

then I'd be polite in turn.

I listened to the Dragons and their noisy howling for a while longer, until they

finally stopped. The Silver Dragon turned to me and bowed his head deeply.

"Lord Mochizuki Touya... I can truly never repay the debt you have given me

this day. Even so, is there anything we can do for you?"

"Actually, yes. You don't need to worry about grand gestures, but I would like

to ask a small favor. Could you grant me some territory on this island? I would

like to build a home here."

"Something so paltry is no request at all. You may have some space on the

mountainside, it has a magnificent overlook that surveys the entire island." That

sounded great to me. I nodded and asked him to guide me there.

Unlike the slow elegance it had displayed before, the Silver Dragon now

flapped its wings at full force and rocketed into the air. We followed after him

on Luli's back, until we reached the area on the side of the mountain.

When we got there, the Silver Dragon wrapped himself in a dazzling light,

seemingly changing shape. Once the light settled, he had transformed into a

humanoid form. He resembled a young man with long, flowing silver hair that

reached his waist.

He had horns sprouting from his head, and rough scale patches on his limbs,

he resembled Sonia's people. He wore a plain pair of pants and a simplistic

jacket. Frankly, he was handsome. I wasn't jealous or anything, but he looked

really good.

"Huh... You can turn into a human?"

"Indeed. We Silver Dragons have an affinity for the human form and species,

and that affinity has manifested in this trait."

"Can you do that, Luli?"

"I see no reason to. Silver Dragons are strange creatures, if you ask me." Luli

shook her head as she transformed into her mini-form again. Given that she

could change into that form, she could probably turn into a human if she

wanted. It was probably more a case of wouldn't rather than couldn't.

Luli and the other Heavenly Beasts seemed proud of their regular forms, so

there'd be no need for them to turn humanoid.

I walked toward the cliff edge. The view of the island was great.

"This is pretty good. I really like the view..."

"Ping." Ruby started imitating me, looking around the area. Saph and Emerl

started to imitate her in turn. I wondered if they liked it. "Guess I should

prepare the area, then..." I flattened out the sloping parts and created a solid

foundation of land with Earth magic. This was an outcropping on a

mountainside, after all. I didn't want to risk a landslide.

After I made a sturdy enough foundation, I opened up [Storage] and pulled a

house out of it.

"Wow..."

"Ping..." "Pong..." "Pang..." The Silver Dragon looked on in surprise, along

with Ruby and her sisters. I guess the sudden action took them by surprise.

I'd purchased this home a while ago. It belonged to a noble from Regulus, but

I managed to get him to part with it for a pretty good price.

I placed the home down and dug it deep into the firm foundation by using

[Modeling]. The garden looked a little mediocre for the time being, but I figured

I could save the flower-planting for later.

"Would it be alright if other humans come to this house from time to time

through teleportation magic? We won't bother the other Dragons on the island,

I promise."

"Not a problem. I will ensure that the other Dragons keep away from this

place." Even though I had the elder's promise, I still erected a defensive barrier

just in case. I felt there may still be some foolhardy Dragons around.

I pulled the Dimensional Disruptor Mk. II out of [Storage] and plopped it

down into the middle of the garden. Originally I was going to put it in a

basement area, but this place wasn't inhabited by humans so having it next to

the house would be fine.

Wait... There aren't any people on this island. Why'd I bother setting up a

house?! I could've just plonked the portal down and called it a day. Well,

whatever. I guess it's nice to have another vacation home.

All that was left was to entrust the house to Ruby and her sisters... But I had

my doubts they were ready. Plus I needed to take them to Doctor Babylon for a

tune-up.

"It'd be convenient if I could just bring Laim to live here..." Our super-charged

butler would be able to manage this place, but I was sure him suddenly

vanishing from the world he was born into would raise some questions.

"To be honest, the Silver Dragon can probably tend to this place for you. Silver

Dragons are rare and unusual in that they have an active interest in humans and

human culture."

"Oh yeah?"

"Indeed. Now and then I transform into a human so that I might enter their

towns and learn more about their ways." The Silver Dragon nodded his head

slowly. It seemed he was as curious as he was mighty. I wondered if his species

had gained the ability to transform into humans due to this burning curiosity

ingrained into them. I wondered if he was attacked by the Gollem while he was

wandering around as a human...

"Then... Will you do this for me? You can use the home as if it were your own,

and I'll give you money to arrange food and furniture, however you like it."

"That sounds wonderful. I adore human culture, and always wanted to try

living in a human home, so this works well for me." I pulled out a bag containing

my remaining coins. I asked that he use the money to keep the house in order

and buy whatever kind of furniture he wanted. I also gave him a magic carpet,

since I didn't want him drawing too much attention during his shopping runs.

"Oh, that's right... You're a Silver Dragon, but I didn't catch your name. What

is it?"

"Ah, forgive me. I don't actually have a name. If it is alright with you, I would

happily take a name from the one who granted a name to Lady Luli..."

Silver Dragon, huh... Hmm... Well, Yumina already named her wolf Silver, so I

guess I can't use that...

I didn't think a Dragon would appreciate being named the same thing as a

wolf.

"I'll call you Shirogane, then... That's a name that means silver in my mother

tongue. I also used the name for a brief while when I was disguised."

"Thank you for your blessing...! Thank you so much... From here on I am

Shirogane." The Silver Dragon, Shirogane, bowed to me. I was more than fine

giving him the name I once wore when I was the masked Oni.

Alright, guess that means my business in this world is concluded for now.

"Alright, we'll be heading back for now. Next time I come, I'll bring my friends

with me... So please look forward to it."

"Of course. Until next time, my friend." Shirogane smiled wide and bowed his

head. He was definitely moving a lot more smoothly. Part of me wondered if

this was really the same Dragon we'd seen earlier.

I activated the Dimensional Disruptor Mk. II by pouring my magic into it. I

made a mental note to install a magical reserve tank on this side later on.

The meter filled up a lot faster than the one on Palerius island.

Luli, Kohaku, and the Etoiles didn't exceed the weight limit, so they were good

to come through with me.

We headed through the portal and safely came out into Babylon's Garden.

"Oooh! So these must be the Gollems I've heard so much about! I see,

interesting! How amazing!" I brought all three of the Etoiles to the research

laboratory, where Doctor Babylon immediately began to fawn over them with a

wild grin.

"Ohoho... Oh yes... They're all the same model? Female? Mmhm... I can't wait

to check them out. Hey, sisters... Don't worry about a thing, okay? I'm gonna

spread you open and dig around your insides, aaha! Ow...!"

"Knock it off. No sexual harassment cases, please." I karate-chopped Doc

Babylon on the head. The three Gollems honestly looked a little nervous.

"That hurt...! Come now, it was just my innocent curiosity running wild. It's

my job here to be interested in unusual technology, isn't it?!"

"I understand that, but these Gollems have a learning system. I can't afford to

have you teaching them weird stuff during their development." I warned the

annoying little pervert. I didn't want Ruby and the others turning out like her. I

definitely needed a more proper individual for their education.

"Mm... Goodness... Ahh... Given their sizes, they'd really suit cute clothing...

P-Panties, too! Aahaha! D-Doctor, can you m-make their bodies more squishy,

too?!" Tica, the one in control of the research laboratory, started to breathe

heavily as she surveyed the Gollem trio. What the hell are you doing here, you

wannabe diddler? Keep your dirty eyes off them! To be honest, the Babylon

sisters were pretty similar to Gollems if we lumped artificial lifeforms all

together.

Well... No point keeping them active while this is happening. I sent the three

Gollems into a dormant state, halting their functions for a while.

I told them the basics that I'd learned from Nia, and informed them that they

must never touch the G-Cube or the Q-Crystal.

"[Analyze]." She'd definitely be able to understand more than I'd picked up.

"Hm... Interesting... There are components here that I've never heard of.

Some of these raw materials may not exist in this world, but I can substitute

them. As for the abilities these three house... I have no idea, I can't figure that

part out."

"The other world has a line of Gollems called the crowns that are capable of

performing incredible feats. There's a small chance that it was a crown that

came to this world so long ago and made contact with old man Palerius."

"An interesting hypothesis, but I don't fully buy into it yet. If we are to assume

that the Gollem repaired the boundary, then what happened to it afterward? Is

it still in this world?" That wasn't impossible... But I'd done a search for Gollems

via my map and nothing came up. It probably went back to the Reverse World,

if there even was one to begin with.

Its ability might have been similar to how Ende could travel between worlds.

"Well, no matter. I'll thoroughly analyze these three. I'll probably learn

something valuable in due time."

"Gotcha. Seriously, though... Don't go overboard, alright? And don't modify

them with any weird extra parts." I made sure the two knew I didn't want any

funny business and moved to leave the research laboratory.

Oh damn, I didn't get to pick up any souvenirs over there... Everything ended

up happening so fast that I just wanted to come home...

I shrugged my shoulders and opened up a [Gate] to my room in Brunhild

castle.