Chapter 53: The Explosion of the Seat
『 Heric, rushing out from the swarm of machines, screamed for help.
"Help, help, help, HELP ME!!! I'm sorry, I was too greedy! I wanted to keep it all for myself and steal a few more machines before heading back—I accidentally drove the Terror Raptor into the Miasma, and it… no, they suddenly went out of control!"
"—You idiot! Do you realize what you've done?!" Veronica looked at Heric, absolutely livid. "Those machines were modified to protect my escape — they've been enhanced for maximum firepower and... now they're all out of control!"
"Doctor, looks like your plan's going down the drain thanks to one greedy little rat~" Seed said softly. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: I understood the metaphor this time.
〘March 7th〙: Anyone could understand it this time.
....
『 "Cut the sarcasm, Seed! Help me... please, help me stop those rampaging mechs! Don't let them hurt the Intelligent Constructs!"
Belle also looked at Seed and said, "Seed, now isn't the time for that… let's solve the trouble in front of us first!"
"That's exactly what I meant!" Seed nodded.
After speaking, Seed entered Seed Sr.'s cockpit to deal with the Terror Raptor. After resolving the Terror Raptor, Seed turned to annihilate the other berserk machines.
After an unknown amount of time, silence finally returned to the area, leaving behind only a ground full of mechanical wreckage… and the shattered Intelligent Constructs that had been caught in the crossfire.
Was the further destruction of these Intelligent Constructs caused by the out-of-control machines, or was it collateral damage from Seed failing to control the range of fire during the battle?
There was no point in dwelling on it anymore, because the fact that the Intelligent Constructs were completely beyond repair was laid bare before their eyes.
Veronica slumped to the ground, staring at them blankly…
"Am… am I saved?! Thank goodness… I, I was wrong—you can arrest me! I really don't want to die…" Heric looked at the three of them.
"If you want to turn yourself in that badly, there's rope in the warehouse 200 meters straight ahead. Go tie yourself up~" Seed's voice came from inside Seed Sr., carrying a hint of electronic distortion.
Veronica looked at the damaged Intelligent Constructs in front of her, sighed, and began to sob.
"Doctor, can you still stand up?" Seed asked.
"It's over. Those Intelligent Constructs… were all destroyed in the battle just now. Their logic cores are completely pulverized, and their bodies are in pieces…" Veronica sobbed quietly.
"Sorry about that, Doctor. Facing that many machines at once, it's hard to manage without hitting them hard. But once you increase the firepower, you always end up with collateral damage… is this what they call the Trolley Problem?"
After saying this, Seed looked at the Intelligent Constructs on the ground that had been hit by her own attacks and said, "But since both the machines and the Intelligent Constructs ended up like this, it'll be hard to take them back to complete the mission… I won't get any military merits this way."
"Doctor, try 3D printing," Seed suggested to Veronica.
"What are you talking about?" Veronica looked at Seed in shock, her voice trembling with anger.
"I saw it on a tech website recently~ As long as you have the raw materials and the blueprints, 3D printing can create anything."
"Let's collect all this wreckage on the ground~ I'll handle the blueprints. We'll use them as raw materials to 3D print the machines and Intelligent Constructs as they were before they were destroyed."
Seed then pointed to the logic cores on the ground, looked at Veronica, and continued, "We can even restore the damaged logic cores exactly as they were! That way, it won't delay your research into reviving them~" 』
『 ....』
〘Orpheus〙: Seed is completely rubbing salt in the wound.
〘Magus〙: More than salt, that's itching powder.
〘Stelle〙: Veronica views the Intelligent Constructs as people, which means in her eyes, Seed's suggestion is to use a pile of human limbs as raw materials…
〘Hanabi〙: After all that, it turns out you have to assemble them yourself~
....
『 "Why… can you always say such cruel things?" Veronica asked with a sob.
"Whether it's a logic core or a human brain… once it suffers physical destruction, no matter how much you try to repair or restore it, it's futile. Do you really not know that?"
"You already know that Seed Sr.'s logic core suffered irreversible damage, so how long are you going to keep playing dumb?"
Seed, inside Seed Sr., fell silent at those words.
Seeing this reaction, Veronica laughed through her tears.
"Haha… I had a feeling before, and I was right! Since you're a mechanical genius and you've fully inspected Seed Sr., you must have checked his logic core! You've already seen his fragmented core!"
"The moment you saw his logic core, a bad feeling rose in your heart, didn't it? It's just that every time, you forcibly convinced yourself with all sorts of excuses…"
"To this day, you still haven't understood what it means that Seed Sr. is dead! And it's not that you can't understand… you just refuse to understand!"
Seeing Seed's state becoming increasingly unstable, Belle realized she had to take Seed away immediately.
"Seed, there's no need to listen to what she's saying! We'll give up on the military merits this time. Let's leave right now!"
"Seed Sr. is different from these other Intelligent Constructs. His consciousness was uploaded to another body, and he's currently on a classified mission. He'll come back sooner or later—" Seed spoke rapidly; she was in fear.
"HOW LONG DO YOU WANT TO AVOID REALITY!! THERE IS NO SUCH MISSION, HE'S BEEN GONE FOR A LONG TIME!!" Veronica roared.
"From the very beginning, my judgment of you wasn't wrong—a 'Heartless Monster', coming from who knows where, unable to understand death and pain, only bringing dangerous disasters to people!"
"Since everyone else has protected you so well… then let me tell you." Veronica slowly stood up, looking directly at Seed through Seed Sr.'s eyes, and said word for word, "A logic core like Seed Sr.'s can never, ever come back to life!"
"He's been dead for a long time!"
"Death—death cannot be reversed! Even if that shell suddenly moves again, it won't be him—his intelligence, his soul, his memories, they no longer exist!"
Seed took a shaky, deep breath after hearing this.
"And there are only two causes for his death: one is the damn Iron Order failsafe, and the other is you, Seed!"
"He chose to destroy his logic core back then just to save you, who was trapped in the Hollow!" Veronica cried out at Seed.
"It was… because of me?"
Seed's voice fluctuated; she was in sorrow.
Seed Sr… is dead? But that's not right, he's clearly sleeping, on a classified mission… he promised me he'd come back…
Inside Seed Sr.'s cockpit, Seed lowered her head and murmured.
"If the logic core is broken… that's death? Death… means never seeing each other again?"
"Because of me? The logic core broke… because of me?"
"From the very beginning… were we destined to never meet again? As long as he met me… he could only die?"
"Why…"
"Why... couldn't he have lived?"
The moment Seed finished those words, everyone present felt a bone-chilling cold.
In the next second, the fallen machines and Intelligent Constructs suddenly began to mutate.
Spontaneous combustion, electrical discharges, explosions. In an instant, the area became a hell entwined by the Grim Reaper…
The machines and Intelligent Constructs let out a deafening roar, and then, under the force of a massive impact, they turned to ash, dyeing the surroundings into a vast sea of fire. 』
『 ....』
〘Wise〙: Oh no, the machines at my place aren't listening to commands anymore!
〘Magus〙: I knew it, she would definitely go berserk once she found out.
〘Orpheus〙: Seed! Keep watching, don't give up yet, there's still hope!
〘Seed〙: But if he hadn't met me, he wouldn't have had to die.
〘Belle〙: Seed, calm down! The Hollow Seed Sr. mentioned hasn't appeared yet!
〘Stelle〙: Yeah, yeah, that gun theory will definitely come into play.
〘Anby〙: Chekhov's.
〘Wise〙: Belle! The machines have quieted down. It looks like Seed has calmed down.
〘Magus〙: Calmed down my foot, we knocked her out. Let's record this part and show it to her later. Who knows when she'll wake up? Soldier 11's hit was a bit heavy.
〘Soldier 11〙: 5
〘Orpheus〙: 5 more minutes? That should be enough.
〘Soldier 11〙: 4
〘Belle〙: !!!!!
....
( Gonna try new things like adding an image... but only base if it was in the archive itself, and only use the image from fandom. Give me your feedback, tell me if it's good or unnecessary, as it breaks the immersion. )