In the middle of the rock reef, devastated by the merciless destruction, Minle noticed a whispering.
It resounded from the torso section of Mestelexil, utterly and wholly smashed to pieces.
"—delmemoao psytoqmanam yaimasutea ulkowarezored haimoztyubeta axoforkzora namerokirms—" (—coupled wings disappear to ash overflow with starshell skin and incarnate bind small sky tremors to cuts and ruins of sky and soil, fine chains of red—)"
The voice was like water, flowing smoothly without falter.
At first, Minle wasn't even aware it was speaking Word Arts. They were far too different from any Word Arts she had ever heard. An excessively long incantation, much too complex and bizarre.
"Activity confirmed."
Miluzi's two golems also detected the whispering.
Respikt incanted the Thermal Arts beam from before. Nemerhelga detonated its tail's firing function and launched steel spikes into the remains of Mestelexil with a speed too fast for Minle to register.
Their point of impact was removed from the fragments of his torso.
Suddenly, the armor reconstituted in midair—the armor that evaded the spikes' path—split and fell to the ground.
There was a barrier that hadn't existed until the very moment the spikes launched. It formed right before the projectiles' impact.
"Respikt io halese. Uomortmorp. Byaro woro." (From Respikt to Halesept's eyes. Bubbles floating in gold.)
Mestelexil's eccentric incantation overlapped with Respikt's Word Arts, taking aim at him from above.
"Yupaiemnewox aonksnaoewam lastioowa sorwokma zisardergodwe." (Hang from the bundled rotating mooring line remove the hollow empty hinge look again upon the mirage.)
"Kuqure it nostam. Indersmostek." (End of waterway. Fill up the cavity.
Burn.)
The light of the heat rays poured down from above. He blocked it with an arm. As he defended himself from it, he stood with his right leg. The left leg supported his body. The scattered fragments of Mestelexil coalesced once more.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
His incantation was one of Craft Arts. The once-demolished Mestelexil had reconstructed his own body, using his own Word Arts. In addition, his regenerated armored body's construction changed to perfectly defend against Respikt's heat rays.
A thin layer, peeled off from the armoring's surface, gently floated to the ground.
"I-I-I-I am…the strongest!"
The older gentlemen, looking at the battle from atop the cliff, gave a rigorous applause of honest admiration.
"…Wonderful. From a state of complete destruction. What sort of Word Arts are involved, may I ask?"
"Go ahead and analyze it for yourself. Call yourself a bit of a construct
user, don'cha?"
"Well, of course… I can hypothesize. For example, perhaps that giant body is a simple outer exterior and inside the torso's armor is where the real body is, made into an ultra-small size. Thus, should that smaller body be able to use Craft Arts, it all comes together."
"You don't have any idea how the real body survived destruction, then, eh?"
Kiyazuna crossed her arms and gazed at Mestelexil, very clearly displeased.
Mestelexil below her was again naively headed straight toward Nemerhelga.
"That's his first feature. Golem regeneration. He can use Craft Arts to reconstruct himself no matter the situation."
"I see. In that case, surely you must know what method I shall utilize next, no?"
"…Feh! Go for it!"
Miluzi used a radzio to issue his orders. His Respikt and Nemerhelga were the types of constructs that were incapable of Word Arts. In exchange for their extremely high battle prowess, they relied on an outside source for a majority of their tactical judgment and could perform only the offensive Word Arts already inscribed within them, when necessary.
"Destroy the real unit inside the torso armor." "KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
The colossus and giant insect clashed once again. The insect's cutting jaw no longer had any effect on Mestelexil's armor.
However… There was one part that was different from the situation before. Nemerhelga raised its scorpion-like tail and lined the pinned-down Mestelexil up against the firing track for its spikes.
An explosion caused the very sky to tremble. The spikes bit into the midsection, and the area where the armor joined together warped.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Th-th-that won't, work any, more! Not on me!"
Respikt plunged in from the side. The brass blades growing from its sides tore off the armor easily like an industrial machine. The exchange was over in less than a blink of an eye, with the two of them passing by each other.
"..."
Blood dripped down from the tip of Respikt's wings. Mestelexil's real
body had been skewered by one of its numerous blades.
It was a living creature, like a fetus, smaller than a person's head. Fatally wounded, it silently trembled four times before stopping entirely.
"Well I never—a homunculus core is quite the surprise. Is it fair to say that with this, I've solved the riddle?"
Miluzi dispassionately confirmed the fruits of his battle. His golems' combat capabilities far exceeded those of Kiyazuna's, just as he had thought, after all.
Not one, but two absolute masterpieces, each capable of annihilating an entire city on its own.
"Oh? You think you've got it, do you? This is his second functionality." "...!"
"Iuwars64 meoiure noskraehe moiazz ziektkorot haith4bestei mistenok aivequte houbrantuxe—" (Separate the sixty-four-grid place where the red colors of upstream branches meet, in the light network where the four symbols cannot be seen, going through ignorance and awakening shall—)
The golem, whose true body was supposed to have perished, was incanting.
Mestelexil, thought to now be an empty husk, grabbed Nemerhelga's jaw and pulled it down.
The explosive collision into the sunken rocks sent water spraying into the air, once again showcasing Mestelexil's abnormal physical strength. However, despite his main body supposedly being dead, he could still manage to speak.
"Ha, ha-ha-ha-ha! Poor, Nemerhelga! I will…never di-di-die! Mama m- m-made, me that, way!"
Kiyazuna, watching his restoration, declared with a fearless grin—
"The second function. Homunculus regeneration. He can use Life Arts to reconstruct himself no matter the situation."
"B-Brilliant…! The golem itself having the capability to chant Word Arts, I'm speechless…!"
"You've seen two of my tricks now. Is there anything else you want to try out?"
The Word Arts capabilities Mestelexil displayed were beyond abnormal.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call them opposed to the natural laws of the world.
Constructs functioned by being infused with life through Word Arts. Unlike living creatures from nature, they could be augmented with various specialized functionalities. However, to give a self-replicating ability to such artificial life-forms… Was it actually possible to imbue them with a soul that wielded Word Arts capable of producing its own body by itself?
The Dungeon Golem Kiyazuna created in Nagan had been capable of using itself as a factory to mass-produce simple golem soldiers. That feat alone proved that Kiyazuna the Axle was already among unmeasurable heights as a demon king.
Nevertheless, if her golems were then able to replicate complex functionality on Mestelexil's level, then they indeed possessed a true soul. Beyond the realm of simple constructs, it was a feat on par with creating an independent and new species of creature altogether.
"Just how did you… How did you successfully build a creation capable of such functionality? Truly superb."
"I told you, they aren't 'creations.' All of 'em are my children. Why don't you explain how your own kids came to be the way they are, huh?"
The old woman took a long sip of orange tea. She was always irritated, regardless of whether people looked up to her or looked down on her.
She hadn't changed one bit in the past few decades.
"When ya repeat things over and over, thousands and thousands of times…something unexpected happens. Sometimes, it's the exact functionality you're looking for; sometimes it's a functionality not worth a damn… But in that unexpected moment is where the truly unique constructions are. Those kinds of miracle moments, that's when my babies are really born. Babies based off a singular functionality, only able to come to life in that exact moment."
"In other words, Mestelexil's functionality then…is the ability to use Word Arts?"
"You'd really call something that basic a 'miracle'? Put simply, it's a shared curse."
"A functionality entrusted to another organism… A core that's immortal as long as it isn't destroyed. No, it couldn't be...?"
A shared curse. A functionality also found within a monster that once terrorized Aureatia, Nihilo the Vortical Stampede. Even Miluzi had never successfully created such a golem.
No. There's one thing that doesn't explain. What in the world is keeping that alive.…?
Miluzi's two golems once again changed their strategic course.
Respikt started again to fire Thermal Arts from high up in the sky, out of range. Conversely, Nemerhelga curiously bent its body and started encircling Mestelexil's flank.
"Nemerhelga! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Give me, your b-best, shot! I-I-I won't, let the s-s-small one, die!"
Mestelexil stood against his opponents with nothing but his own body.
The sky sparkled like it was filled with stars, and Thermal Arts once again rained down. They no longer had any effect on Mestelexil's armor. As the Thermal Arts showered over him, he stepped toward Respikt.
Atop the cliff, Miluzi moaned at Mestelexil's defensive capabilities. "Unbelievable! Everything perfectly countered, and in less than a
second… What intelligence! He's clearly showing independent thought! And learning…! Learning how to handle my Respikt's attacks!"
"Bah, like learning's anything special. Lemme show you, that saying that homunculi are born knowing everything? Ain't just superstition."
"Please do…! Unfortunately, I've already given them both my orders."
The Thermal Arts' aim was to obstruct Mestelexil's senses with light. In that case, how did Nemerhelga move in that moment?
On the ground. All of Nemerhelga's body segments opened at once and deployed their Thermal Arts propulsion thrusters.
The bluish white air blast pulverized the terrain behind it as it rushed at Mestelexil's flank.
"Bring it! Nemerhelga!"
Mestelexil took the explosive impact head-on. Gouging a line through the soil, his body was pushed to the edge of the beach. Once he was a mere three steps from the precipice, he held his ground.
"KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Nemerhelga didn't stop.
The joints on its body exploded. The entirety of its long and massive iron body turned into a multi-stage firing mechanism and sent Mestelexil flying
with numerous percussive impacts.
Expelled far offshore, the iron body's colossal weight sank deep into the water.
It was true that he was indeed immortal. However, he was now in the frigid darkness of the seafloor. There would be no coming back.
The storm of battle subsided. The only thing left behind were the remains of Nemerhelga's blasted body. High in the sky, Respikt simply gazed with cold eyes at its brother's piecemeal destruction.
"Re-certification complete. Father. Your orders."
"—vercomaub hangert waiuzpeunt winworpics urcstoct naferdert—" (feeding on heat from the mire, should it become proof of sin anew, the binding of those two, several thousand—)
"..."
…Word Arts resonated.
There, at a single point along the reef, a small, embryonic life-form was being brought into existence.
Mestelexil should have been wholly driven offshore, including the homunculus body held within. The only explanation was that it had appeared out of nowhere.
Respikt chanted its Thermal Arts attack.
"Respikt io halese. Uomortmorp. Byaro woro." (From Respikt to Halesept's eyes. Bubbles floating in gold.)
The golem armor, formed in midair, blocked the heat rays. Just as it did before.
—It had already studied this attack. Its construction could now handle it.
The attack wasn't effective.
"What in the world… What kind of mechanism— And how…?!" "C'mon, that's easy, fool. Mestel can create Exil. Exil can create Mestel.
Anywhere either one's voice can reach. Separate them as far as ya want, they'll come back from anywhere."
"They…they each formed each other's body, and instantly returned back to land… I would have never hypothesized anything like it… I-I can't believe it…!"
It was a preposterous feat. Her declaration that this was her greatest masterpiece, even surpassing the Dungeon Golem, itself a moving city, wasn't a lie at all.
If this was all true, then Mestelexil's skills as a Word Arts user transcended those of the self-proclaimed demon king Miluzi himself.
Furthermore, it would prove an eternal impossibility to kill this golem with any of the instruments and skills he bestowed on either of his own golem creations.
The fruit of miracles and coincidence itself, it was a true monster.
Was the golem the main body? Or was the homunculus the main body? Which was the real form, the body cast off into the ocean, or the one standing on the seaside now?
In all likelihood, the correct answer was "both." It was all Mestelexil. It could produce its own body from the smallest vestiges of living cells. It could build its own body from the minerals in the soil.
In a world defined by Mestelexil's Word Arts, was even one's own continuity meaningless, too?
"Respikt. Your father was defeated. Terminate the field test, and immediately—"
"The third—"
The old witch's words interrupted Miluzi's instructions. "—Function. You can handle that, right, Mestelexil?"
The monster, his whole body completely constructed anew, fixed his singular eye on Respikt.
Solely relying on brute force to fight, this enemy should have been far out of his range.
He chanted Craft Arts.
"Exil io mestel. Rewol qzerd. Hengren orksap. Zempst haie—" (From Exil to Mestel. Divine explosive sound. Group's terminus. Spinning cone—)
Then, he constructed something no one in their world had seen before.
An indescribable form, utterly impossible for the hands of others to create. His right arm transformed into a structure composed of three black metal pipes bundled together. The base where the pipes were attached moved by way of an even more complex mechanism.
The electrical Thermal Arts current flowed, and it began to spin.
"—noingod. (Drill). GAU-19/B."
The high-speed gun noises sounded almost like screaming. A shriek of
metal and gunpowder.
The mechanical angel, capable of flying faster than wyverns, was reduced to debris that scattered along the wind.
With a sound like a mountain of coins, an innumerable number of casings fell to the ground.
It was a weapon from another world, one no one had ever seen before. A rotary multi-barreled machine gun. It was known as a gatling gun.
"With visitors…as long as they got a body from the Beyond, they'll never be able to use Word Arts. But they know about the weapons in the Beyond. Knowledge unknown to us, knowledge that'll surpass everything."
"..."
"You ever think about it? If they could just use Craft Arts… If they had power to reproduce weapons as they saw fit, depending on how much they knew, you could get a hand on anything and everything from the world beyond."
"…Kiyazuna… What exactly…did you…?"
Miluzi looked at Kiyazuna. They were both self-proclaimed demon kings.
Yet her thoughts were on a far different level than his own.
Right now, Kiyazuna was missing her irritated look. Like a scholar finished with one experiment and on to considering their next, her eyes looked deep in thought about what lay ahead.
"I got my hands on a visitor, a scholar on the other side. I thought they'd make good material."
His mind had been more at ease when she had worn her devilish grin. "So I made them capable of using Word Arts."
Homunculi were prepared using a living person of the minian races as a base model.
They would latently possess the base's knowledge, but they were still unmistakably separate living creatures, born to their world.
That was Mestelexil.
"…I've been totally outdone. Just…one more thing. Why wasn't the homunculus inside burned alive by the heat rays? I keep asking myself that question, but I haven't the faintest idea."
Kiyazuna laughed. Still, she clearly planned on explaining that as well, whether asked or not. As though perfectly matter-of-fact, like a parent bragging about her child.
"For Mestelexil, one half serves as the life of the other. That goes both ways, you see. The fourth functionality. A two-way shared curse. It's impossible to kill Mestel and Exil at the same time."
Everything had ended.
The two monsters, who seemed ready to consume the world, were smashed apart and gone. It was likely there would never be someone who could believe what she saw on this coastline.
"H-How, how, was that?!"
The remaining monster approached. She couldn't escape.
Its spherical head restlessly whipped around, clearly unable to hide its curiosity, and gazed at Minle's beloved daughter.
"I, h-have, have protected, the s-small one! Protected, and beat them! Ha- ha-ha-ha-ha! And still, I won! Because I am the strongest!"
"S-stay away… Please, someone…save me…" "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha…"
Minle held her daughter to her breast, trying desperately to protect her from the abomination before her.
The terrifying laughter gradually grew weaker, and then stopped. "…Ha-ha…"
"Nghh, weeh!"
Her daughter wriggled up against her chest.
She wanted to scream for her to be still. Yet, her legs remained frozen stiff.
Her daughter stretched her short arm out toward the mechanical monster. "Gaah, gaa."
"…W-what is… Ha-ha! Y-y-you are, giving this, to me?!"
The monster accepted the flower her daughter was holding with its left hand.
A hand that was colossal compared to the minia, smeared with destruction. A horrifying calamity.
Her daughter knew nothing of violence.
"Y-yay…! Heh-heh, heh…! I-I am, glad little one, is alive! It is p-p-
pretty! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Gripping the life-form in his hands, so grossly far removed from his immortal body, he flew off somewhere else.
No matter where he was headed, Minle knew his destination lay past the edges of her world—a hellish battlefield like no other.
"A f-flower! I got, a flower!"
He didn't possess any expressions like the minia did. Nevertheless, he was always smiling.
Each time he revived, unknown knowledge would surface within him like bubbles, but he always remained himself.
His name was Mestelexil.
A constructed being, two lives fused together, and invincible in the truest sense of the word.
"…Manage to do a good job, didn'cha, Mestelexil. How about your battle report?"
"M-M-Mama!"
Kiyazuna the Axle stood where the road from the coast joined the flatland. The mother and creator of the life-form known as Mestelexil. His wish was to make his mother's wishes come true.
"Look, at this! A flower! I-It was g-given! To me! Hahaha!"
"Huh?! A flower, eh? Hey, Mestelexil… The thing about flowers.…" Kiyazuna snatched the flower out of his hands.
It was small, delicate, and a lovely shade of bright yellow. She then turned around and started walking.
Kiyazuna flicked something up with her fingertips, and it landed in Mestelexil's palms as he followed behind her.
It was a small glass vial, with the flower tucked inside.
"…is you gotta treat them more carefully. Did you have fun, Mestelexil?" "Heh-heh, heh…! Respikt, and Nemerhelga, were both amazing! It was,
lots of f-fun!" "…Hmph. That so."
She smiled profoundly. She wanted him to experience it all, from the taste
of victory to the beauty of flowers.
Her golems were not creations. Each and every one of them were her precious children.
"Still got a ways to go! This ain't all there is to the world, not even close! Beauty, ugliness, it's got it all! Taste it all! It's all yours! You got the right to life, so enjoy every bit of it!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"All righty, Mestelexil, it's time to move on! Things're gonna get even more fun!"
The age of the True Demon King was over. The time had come for the self-proclaimed demon kings, who had been biding their time, to awaken from the depths of the world. All of the battles up until now had been little more than stress tests. From here on, Mestelexil would have to hone to his fighting skills against all types of opponents.
"M-move on…?! Like before with the soldier people?!" "A lot more fun than killing those Old Kingdoms' goons."
He flew. He could kill people with his fists, incinerate them, or let loose a barrage of bullets. Among the shura, who surpassed all known comprehension, these sorts of deeds were nothing beyond a sporting whim, not even qualifying as a "combat."
In Aureatia, there was a visitor who had single-handedly cut down her labyrinth.
A storm, once constrained into a long dormancy, which had destroyed the country she built as a self-proclaimed demon king country, was on the move.
They were beings she could not allow to exist, all of them. She would burn disaster itself in the fires of her vengeful rage.
"…You're going to kill.…"
And the Mestelexil she built was her invincible child capable of eradicating said disaster.
"…the Particle Storm."
He utilized Word Arts that had arrived at the realm of ultimate existential truth, capable of composing his very own existence.
He endlessly grew, with each cycle of death and rebirth granting him knowledge from a foreign world.
He could regenerate one as long as the other lived, with both of them incapable of being killed simultaneously.
A combat life-form truly flawless, proven invincible by foregone logic.
Creator/Architect. Golem/Homunculus.
Mestelexil the Box of Desperate Knowledge.