Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Ch. 296

The massive steel arm loomed closer.

As it drew nearer and nearer, I could feel its tremendous pressure, causing my body to tremble uncontrollably in fear.

｢Release the saw blade or stand your ground and take the hit. An easy choice. Now, how will you respond?｣

If I let go of the saw blade, it will shred my head.

If I stand my ground, the steel arm will crush me.

There’s no right answer to this.

So, I chose the third option.

I hooked my fingers inside the saw blade.

The outside was sharp, but the inside was dull.

I carefully grabbed it to avoid being cut and then stole Maximilien’s Unique Magic.

Unique Magic: Gear Maiden.

In a world made of gears, If you moved one, all the connected gears would also move simultaneously.

In this world of gears, ‘imperfect’ concepts like power, friction, and decay were irrelevant.

In the world of gears, there were only two states.

Turning or not turning.

While Maximilien was focused on his arm, I reversed the direction of the saw blade.

My body was pulled upward as a result.

My arm trembled under the intense pressure.

Even though the inside of the blade wasn’t sharp, I could feel my fingers being crushed.

Fortunately, thanks to the drugs, it didn’t hurt that much.

Thank you, drugs. I’ll be counting on you more in the future.

｢Impressive, but that ability ultimately belongs to me.｣

Maximilien wasn’t just watching idly.

The moment he glared at me through his monocle, the saw blade suddenly stopped.

My body, caught in mid-air, floated momentarily due to inertia.

The sensation of being suspended in mid-air was dizzying.

But this was far enough.

I pulled out two cards from my pocket.

The Two and Eight of Diamonds.

The Multipurpose Hook and All Things Long and Thin.

I connected a wire to the hook and threw it towards the Steel Beetle.

The hook caught on a gear and I pulled hard.

I didn’t have superhuman strength, but it was enough to adjust the direction of my fall.

As I drew a parabolic curve downward, I reached the side of the Steel Beetle.

Before crashing into it, I extended my legs to land on the gears.

The moment my feet touched down, I used Maximilien’s Unique Magic to make only the gears beneath me spin upwards.

The gear, resembling a giant waterwheel, dutifully carried out its task, spinning under my weight.

It felt as if the ground beneath me was tossing me upward.

After balancing myself, I climbed up, making my way to the back of the Steel Beetle with all sorts of acrobatics.

I heard Maximilien’s voice from behind.

“Hmmm… You’re quite skilled in connecting the gears. Even if you can turn the gears, my creation is not something that anyone can operate. Could it be that you’re not just stealing Unique Magic?”

Right after hearing his voice, a massive hand struck down beside me.

The impact shook the ground beneath my feet.

As I quickly stepped back, I saw that the hand, made of scrap metal and gears, was now merged with the Steel Beetle.

Maximilien pulled himself up in a single leap, catching up to the height I had struggled to climb in just one second.

It was almost absurd.

“Even so, I’m still no match for you.”

“Of course, after all, I’ve lived my whole life with gears, but you’ve only just used this power for the first time. Is this also another ability of the Human King?”

It’s thanks to Mind Reading, but there’s no need to tell him that.

I nodded.

“Humans are animals that use tools.”

“I see. As the Human King, you’re skilled in using all kinds of tools, but it’s not limited to tools, is it? Alchemy, Qi arts… You’re extraordinarily skilled in all of them.”

His gaze shifted to my cards.

Perhaps because he was an alchemist, but he instantly recognized the essence of alchemy contained within my cards.

“However, despite your skill, your creation is lacking. You’ve only shaped them with Alchemic Steel without adding any functionality. Is that all you can do?”

Tsk.

Does he even know how much mana it takes to add functionality through alchemy?

Oh, he probably does.

After all, he’s the greatest alchemist in the Military State.

If you lend me your mana, I could make something better.

I grumbled internally and then pulled out another card, before asking him,

“Want to see something else?”

“You’d better show me more if you want to survive.”

If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you. Let’s start another magic show…

But before I could begin, Maximilien extended his arm without warning.

The massive steel hand, obeying his command, reached out to grab me.

If it caught me, I’d end up as ground meat in a meat grinder.

But I was standing on the Steel Beetle.

The entire surface was covered in gears.

I tried to spin the gears to move my body as I had earlier…

But the gears wouldn’t move.

My body wobbled, unable to keep up with my thoughts.

｢You won’t escape the same way again. Just as you stopped my gears, I can stop the gears you’re trying to move.｣

His quick understanding and fast response were alarming.

Even with overwhelming power, he meticulously blocked my actions, tightening his grip around my already limited options.

In a blink, the steel hand filled my vision.

If it hit me, I’d be severely injured.

If it caught me, there would be no future left for me.

I had to evade, but having lost control of the gears, I was left staggering.

When plans go awry, panic sets in, slowing judgment.

In a fight against a strong opponent, even a brief moment of hesitation can be fatal.

I missed my one chance to overcome the crisis, and the steel hand swept over me…

｢Is that all there is?｣

This is my chance!

He dropped his guard and with his vision obscured, it was time to act.

I reached out.

Before me were hundreds of gears. Most were added to increase destructive power, but there were also critical gears that formed the basic structure.

It would be impossible to distinguish them at a glance, but having read the designer’s mind, I knew exactly which ones to target.

I locked onto my target and pulled out a card.

The Ace of Diamonds, The Pickpocket’s Skewer.

I held it in reverse and angled it into the gear’s gap.

The skewer slipped into the gap. Then, bent by the pressure of the steel arm, it sprang out like a fishing rod.

Blood seeped from my torn hand, but in return, I had removed one of the gears.

Beneath the skin, the skeletal structure was exposed.

This was no different from pickpocketing.

Strip away the outer layer and reach for the most important item.

Without hesitation, I thrust my hand inside.

Maximilien could turn the gears at will, but if that’s all he could do, it would only result in endless idle spinning.

To wield his power, he needed a center: a fulcrum.

Naturally, that fulcrum was his body and for that, Maximilien has embedded gears throughout his body.

In other words, that steel arm was connected to his body.

Meaning I could destroy his body through the gears connected to it.

Reach it.

The gears surged forward.

A wave of steel washed over me.

While I could stop the rotation, I couldn’t eliminate the inertia.

The momentum from the steel battered my body.

If I had been a moment slower, my entire body would have been crushed.

But before that could happen…

My fingertips touched the framework.

A steel hand that mimicked a human body.

From the extremities to the center of the skeletal framework, his power surged backward.

One by one, the gears in the joints—fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder—stopped turning.

And with that, the steel arm he had created was finished.

But the gears didn’t end there.

Maximilien burned his flesh and embedded steel into his shoulder blades to attach his prosthetic arm.

There was a gear embedded in the connection point to control the prosthetic.

There, I found a new beginning—the network of gears extending throughout Maximilien’s entire body.

“Got you.”

Even as I was crushed by the steel, I clenched my hand tightly.

Unique Magic: Gear Maiden.

｢What’s happening? My senses…?!｣

By the time he realized, it was too late.

I issued a command to all the gears connected to me, including those within Maximilien’s body.

It was a command as simple as it was powerful.

Turn in reverse until you break.

｢—!!!!｣

The steel arm exploded.

The components that made up the arm rotated in different directions, each spinning out of control.

Misalignment, distortion, malfunctions, and runaway behavior—every possible issue that could occur in a machine arose within the steel arm, shattering it into thousands of pieces.

The steel arm that was about to crush me now splintered into countless gears that struck me from all directions.

Though small, each gear was made of Grade 3 Alchemic Steel or higher.

The high-density metal tore my skin and struck my head.

Some of the gears even rolled over my body.

The impact sent me flying backward.

My back ached from hitting the ground and my arms were sore from being crushed.

I’m sure the drugs I took earlier were still in effect, but it felt like my body was crying out in alarm at the danger.

It’s okay.

I’m still alive.

The steel arm exploding at the last moment saved me.

The weakening of its structure caused the impact to disperse, reducing the potential damage to only aching.

A very positive outcome.

The problem was…

“Yes, that’s it! Now I understand!”

Maximilien was still alive.

I failed.

Or rather, I was half successful.

Maximilien’s prosthetic arm was gone without a trace, and his exposed left side was stained bright red.

The gears inside his body had gone haywire, causing massive bleeding visible even outside his skin.

But he was still alive.

Maximilien had seen through what I was trying to do and reacted quickly.

He severed the connection before the gears could tear his body apart, barely managing to save his life.

To think he could react to that in a split second… what a monstrous man.

He opened his mouth.

Seeing bright red blood spurt from it, it was clear he was still alive.

“You can only control the gears that are in contact with your body, right?!”

…He nearly died and still managed to figure out my weakness.

The fact that power needed a center also applied to me.

For me to steal his ability, my body had to be in ‘contact’ with his Unique Magic, or I couldn’t use it.

But I didn’t want to admit that, so I tried to deny it.

“No.”

“Trying to deceive me with something so obvious? If you could control gears that weren’t in contact with your body, my limbs would have exploded by now, just like what you did a moment ago!”

Tch, he’s quick to catch on.

What’s more, he’s extremely quick to judge and boldly act in that split second.

“You climbed onto the Steel Beetle because of that, didn’t you? If you step away, the Steel Beetle will only obey my commands! You pretended to flee, but you intentionally moved the battlefield here! Am I right?”

There was no choice but to admit it.

I nodded honestly.

“It seems you didn’t become a Star General through sheer strength alone unlike Historia.”

“Haha! That’s something I should say! Human King, even though you’ve lost most of your power, you’re still an impressive opponent! It’s like fighting myself!”

“I feel the same. When it comes to gears, you surpass everyone else.”

I spoke with sincerity.

He was growing with each moment.

Maximilien, who had reached the pinnacle of human achievement when it came to gears, continued to evolve even now.

“In a world made of gears, you stand at the peak of humanity. Every step you take is one no one has ever walked before. When you pioneer a new horizon, it becomes a domain conquered by humanity. At least in the field of gears, that is.”

This was the highest praise I could offer.

It was a sincere sentiment, without exaggeration.

After listening with a momentary blank expression, Maximilien burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! How moving! I’ve never needed anyone’s recognition, but this pleases me more than any praise I’ve ever received in my life! So, this is the Human King!”

“Well, I’ve been kicked out of my position as a representative of humanity, so my credibility is questionable.”

“You can still regain your power!”

“Haha. No thanks. Even if I do, I won’t align with you. How could I trust you not to mess with my body?”

Even if it’s a desire, I can’t grant one that involves someone taking control of my body.

The most basic instinct of any living being is to maintain their sense of self, and that remains true for me.

The Human King is still a beast before being a king.

“And there’s more I’d like to say… but I’ll tell you later, right before I kill you.”

“There won’t be an opportunity for that. I’ve figured out your abilities. I just need to keep you from getting close.”

Maximilien raised his left arm prosthetic awkwardly.

Clank, clank.

The prosthetic arm reassembled itself, and a long groove was formed from the elbow to the back of the hand.

The end split open, taking the shape of a bowgun.

No, it was a bowgun.

A tiny gear, no larger than a fingernail, rolled into the groove and settled in place.

At Maximilien’s command, the small gear began to spin, creating a loud whirring sound, as if it were much larger than it appeared.

If that gear were to accelerate along the groove, it would fly toward me at a speed comparable to a bolt.

Maximilien aimed at me.

“Can you use Qi Deflection? Well, it doesn’t matter. I have plenty of ammunition, so I’ll just keep shooting until you’re spent. Now, any last words?”

I don’t have the energy to use that technique anyway.

Pointing a gun at someone while threatening them—what a refined method of conversation.

I grumbled and shuffled my cards.

One diamond and ten clubs.

I combined a total of eleven cards into a deck and gave them a light shuffle.

“No can do. A magician’s tricks are never revealed, even with a knife at their throat. I only talk to people with tight lips. Like Lieutenant General Ebon, for example.”

Maximilien also remembered Lieutenant General Ebon, a member of the Human Regime.

He asked.

“Lieutenant General Ebon, huh? A name I haven’t heard in a while. Last I heard, he was in the Abyss…”

He trailed off. As he recalled the information, Maximilien’s gaze grew cold as he stared at me.

“The tight-lipped person you mentioned—is that someone who’s about to die? Did you kill him?”

“I didn’t kill him, but I was there at the time. If you’d like to hear my eulogy, die by my hand. I’ll recite it for you until your last breath.”

“…On the other hand, if I torture you until the brink of death, you might hear it instead.”

“That’s a good mindset. Go ahead.”

I pulled the top card from the deck with both hands.

The Queen of Diamonds, the Queen of Fabric.

It was like a tiny, unrealistically folded blanket unfurling. I draped the Queen of Fabric over my shoulders like a cloak.

The soft texture enveloped me.

The Queen of Fabric: a little warmer, a little tougher, and a little better at concealing than any other high-quality fabric.

But that’s not all there is to it.

If that were the case, there’d be no reason to call it the Queen of Fabric.

The Queen of Fabric’s true power lies in its ability to trap mana.

Even if it’s something intangible like light, as long as it’s made of mana, the fabric can trap it completely. It can even create pitch-black darkness for a vampire who detests light.

I tightened my collar and declared,

“I will fight with everything I have.”