"What?! That's our latest custom demolition saw — purpose-built, able to blow through a twenty-story building in a single strike — and it just snapped?!"
Ben Bigg stared from a distance at the tunneler's severed saw, his entire face a portrait of disbelief.
The prototype's bucket arm had struck with pinpoint precision, hitting the tunneler at the joint where its equipment connected. At the same moment, its other mechanical arm intercepted the grabber's bucket mid-swing and shoved it straight back.
"Wha—?! What the—!"
The pile driver, still stubbornly holding its ground, suddenly found itself powerless to resist. It looked down — and discovered that the prototype had lifted it clean off the ground. A moment later, it was hurled away and slammed into the shattered remains of the monument with a thunderous crash.
"Bzzzzz~"
"Look! That thing is tearing the machines apart!"
One shock followed another. Having dealt with all three machines, the prototype didn't pause for even a moment. It moved straight to violently dismantling the machines at its feet.
Then, from the cockpit area, a mass of sticky white fluid oozed out and swallowed all the scattered components and debris whole.
"Found it! That thing is inside the prototype!"
The instant the white fluid appeared, Geno's senses caught the Livestock Ghost's Ether signature.
It clicked. The prototype's own cockpit had been shielding it from Geno's detection all along.
That design had originally been intended for human pilots to manually operate the prototype during the early days before intelligent machines were fully developed — an Ether-isolating material built to protect the driver. Nobody could have predicted it would end up serving as a shelter for something like this.
"This thing is eating them."
Controlled by the Livestock Ghost, the prototype was pressing the scattered wreckage and components into its own body. And it wasn't just the outward appearance that was changing — the Ether signature Geno was reading was growing stronger with every passing second.
"We can't let it keep going. Its Ether readings are still climbing."
Grace had noticed too. The data on her tablet matched exactly what Geno was sensing. If they let this thing keep consuming, none of them would walk away.
Seeing what was happening, Geno summoned his greatsword on the spot and charged straight at the prototype.
With someone taking the lead, the rest snapped into action as well, each grabbing their weapons and launching a charge at the towering mechanical giant.
"That thing is hiding in the cockpit. I'm going straight for the jugular — cover me."
Geno moved at a frightening speed. In the span of two or three breaths, he was already at the prototype's feet. The machine was busy feeding, its attention elsewhere — it hadn't even noticed him approaching.
Manato, Anton, and the others heard Geno's words and charged toward the pile driver's position, weapons raised, intending to pull it out of danger.
Then, with a heavy clang, the prototype flung the pile driver straight at them. The sudden development caught all three off guard — and then the pile driver slammed directly into them.
"Ugh — agh!"
After several pained cries, the three of them just barely managed to catch the pile driver — but it cost them their momentum. With their cover gone, Geno's situation became decidedly less comfortable.
With no one shielding him, the prototype turned its full and undivided attention to the intruder climbing up its body. Its frame spun and shuddered relentlessly, trying to fling Geno off, while both mechanical arms swatted back and forth across its hull, making his position more and more precarious.
"Damn it — stop shaking — I'm going to be sick, you piece of junk!"
Geno cursed under his breath. He swung his greatsword at the mechanical arm — but the moment the blade energy launched, the violent shaking threw off his aim entirely and sent it scattering into the surrounding ruins. There was no way to lock onto a target.
At this rate I can't use Blink either. If I keep burning time like this, this thing is going to throw me off eventually.
He couldn't focus — and without focus, he couldn't channel the Ether within him. Geno made the call without hesitation: stop clinging to the prototype entirely.
He let go. His whole body was flung upward into the air — and then, in a flash, he reappeared on top of the cockpit.
"Bzzz—?!"
An outcome no one had anticipated. The prototype clearly hadn't been prepared for this at all — Geno had gotten right up in its face before it could react.
But just as Geno was about to drive his greatsword straight through the cockpit, the hatch snapped open — and a massive hand shot out, seizing him by the throat in an iron grip.
"Geno!"
The others had just managed to close the distance. The sight of it stopped them cold.
Grace was the fastest to react. She raised her nail gun, aimed at the white hand, and emptied the magazine.
It barely did a thing. Every shot was intercepted in midair by a mechanical arm, rattling off into nothing with a clatter of sparks. No damage done.
"Ben! Use that move!"
"On it! Leave it to me!"
Ben Bigg hoisted the modified concrete pile onto his shoulder and charged at the prototype's base with explosive speed.
"President!"
Anton saw what was happening. He cupped his hands together. Koleda understood instantly — she came sprinting toward him, planted a foot into his clasped hands, and Anton heaved her skyward.
Seeing Ben Bigg rushing at it, the Livestock Ghost drove the mechanical arm to intercept — but Manato's blade slashed down and knocked it off course.
"Hah! Here — take that back!"
The strike sent a shockwave back through Manato's arms that nearly threw him off balance — but his purpose was served.
"Dangerous operations are strictly prohibited!"
"Watch me drive you into the foundation!"
Ben Bigg's concrete pile came down hard on the prototype's torso. Right behind it, Koleda — powered by Anton's throw — swung her engineering hammer and brought it crashing down on top of the pile.
The spring mechanism inside the pile coiled tight in an instant — and then the enormous impact force released all at once, sending the prototype's entire frame lurching hard to one side.
As it teetered on the verge of toppling, the Livestock Ghost abandoned its grip on Geno entirely and retreated into the cockpit, frantically working the controls to keep the prototype upright.
Geno seized the opening. He Blinked forward and charged at the Livestock Ghost, going for the kill.
His greatsword drove straight through the cockpit from end to end — but against all expectation, the blade met no resistance at all. The cockpit was completely empty.
While he was still trying to make sense of it, Eous's cry rang out from somewhere below.
"Koleda! Watch out!"
Geno whipped his head around. Somehow, at some point, the Livestock Ghost had slipped free of the cockpit and was now racing down the prototype's hull directly toward Koleda at full speed.
From the moment the prototype had been knocked off balance to Geno driving his blade through the cockpit — only seconds had passed.
Koleda and the others hadn't even had time to recover from the punishing combo they'd just pulled off when a white shape came hurtling straight at her.
No — my body — there's no time to dodge!
Koleda watched the Livestock Ghost bearing down on her, powerless to stop it, already able to picture exactly how it would tear her to pieces.
And then, at the edge of crisis, a figure stepped in front of her.
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Jujutsu x Mieruko: Oh no, am I a villain too?
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody