Code Waves ; Explosion

{Analysis: Code Waves perceived.}

Code Waves?

{Code Waves are noetic energy impulses emitted by Codes.}

What purpose do they serve?

{It could be used to perceive the presence of other friendly Codes in the vicinity.}

Friendly Codes, huh? How does that work?

{A Code's mental structure differently compared to other living beings. Their wave changes according to their mental state.}

So, you're saying that if a Code with malicious intent appears, I will easily be able to sense it?

{Affirmative.}

Is the Network related to this in any way?

{Negative.}

I see. That's unfortunate.

Hold on… Is this related to when I had a 'premonition' back when Yuno suddenly began fighting against me?

{Affirmative.}

Thinking of which, Yuno's clarity had gone awry. But, if I was still able to sense it, then that means that Yuno's mental state was present.

In other words, an exterior force wasn't controlling, but rather, it was guiding her thoughts instead.

Knowing Yuno, whatever she said during the battle is highly likely to be true.

If I'm guessing right, whenever a Code completely loses control of their clarity, these Code Waves are no longer emitted.

{That's correct.}

Well, that's another way to check on the state of my allies and enemies.

Anyway, you were saying something about detecting Code Waves. Are you able to tell what's the Code?

{Negative. The waves are too weak to be properly decoded.}

Weak? Are they in a weakened state or are they far away?

{Based on the energy signature, there is a 92% chance that it's the latter.}

That's good, I guess?

Leaving that aside, where are you sensing the Code Waves from?

{The three flora that Father saved.}

I knew there was something up when three gigantic plants appeared, but I wasn't expecting it to be a Code.

Alright, it's about time I finished these swine off.

Focusing back on reality, I lock my sight onto the under-structure of the dragon's open mouth.

"Gabriel, you check if this thing has any other 'artillery weapons' other than the one in the mouth."

"Understood," she replies serenely before splitting up with us.

"Aruru, we're going to be punishing some disbelievers."

"Yay!", a gleeful voice reaches my ears.

Thunderous noises resound all around us as the vines continuously strike the giant machine.

I take this chance to cover myself in Destruction as I swiftly air-jump and punch the lower part of the dragon's mouth.

Cracks immediately form all over the thing before it breaks off from the main body of the machine.

Fearful screams resound all around me as the men who were standing on it are now falling to their demise.

However, before they're able to fall and scream any longer, numerous light spears appear and begin to puncture them all over their bodies.

"To hell, you go!" I hear Aruru scream as she slams her palm into the torso of a noble.

The noble coughs out blood as his body gets hurled in the distance.

Aruru and I proceed to find a way to get inside the giant machine, which was turned out to be much easier than I was expecting.

You would think that such a huge machine will have intruder-proof doors and other things, however, we encountered no such thing as we entered from a hole in the dragon's mouth.

As I land on the ground, I feel the whole thing shake due to the violent strikes of the vines outside.

Why hasn't it released that pulse that burned the vines again? Was it a one-time thing?

If that's the case, this matter will be much easier to resolve.

Now then, what's the best way to destroy a giant machine? The answer to that is obliterating its insides.

I pull out Excalibur from within my ring and begin channeling Destruction into it, despite it already being extremely destructive the way it is.

"Aruru, I leave slashing the swine to you, while I will be cutting this thing down."

"Yes, Father!" she exclaims so happily to the point of forgetting her 'identity' as my maid.

And so, I plunge the sword into the wall beside me and begin to forward while keeping it that way.

Aruru walks in front of me with a light sword in her hand in case we encounter any obstacles.

As the two of us gradually pick up the pace, we hear footsteps ahead of us.

I don't panic and just continue to cut the wall up while channeling Destruction into the machine's structure.

Soon, dozens of armored soldiers appear and immediately charge toward us with raised swords and spears.

Aruru laughs happily before she rushes toward them and begins to cut their heads and limbs off.

In a matter of minutes, Aruru has wiped them all out.

"Good job," I praise her while patting her head with my free hand.

Giggling happily, Aruru says,

"These guys are no problem at all. They won't be able to hurt Father."

"That's correct, but a great number of flies is an annoying thing to deal with, right?"

"Of course! Father is always correct!"

[[Look at you, enjoying the company of a little girl.]]

"Tia, we're going to be having a nice talk in the bath after I'm done with this."

[[…]

Suddenly, I sense some movement on my arm.

"Aurora?" I voice.

Peeking its head out from under my sleeve, Aurora looks at me with its ruby eyes before moving out and falling off from my body.

However, her body stops mid-air as she suddenly disappears, only to reappear a few meters ahead of us.

Through our connection, I can sense that she wishes for me to follow her.

"Aruru, let's follow her," I state.

"Understood."

Aurora continues to 'blink' from one spot to another while staying in the air, while we follow behind her, as I continue the machine.

Anyway, she truly is a unique one, this cute snake of mine. Both in ability and appearance.

Soon, we reach the place she wanted to guide us.

It's a gigantic room that's filled with gems similar to those in the dragon's mouth and the cottage in the forest.

I feel a weird sensation as AI's voice resounds within my head.

{Detected: Artifact.}

An artifact? Is there something special about it?

{Artifacts can grant those that chance upon it powers.}

Oh? So, I'll be getting another ability if I make contact with this thing? Where is it?

Irene begins to guide me toward the artifact, which turned out to be under a container filled with gems.

The artifact is a black box decorated with golden-colored fringes.

I reach my arm out to grab it, and the moment my finger makes contact with it, the box turns into black and golden dust as it fades away.

Does this usually happen?

{Negative. Father's case is a special one, allowing Father to absorb all of what the artifact has to offer.}

{Acquired: Elemental Magic.}

{Due to a contract present, affinity with the Void Element has increased.}

Huh? Contract? Do you mean the one with Louise?

{Affirmative.}

So, Louise has this Void Element or something?

{That's correct.}

Strange. Why have I not seen her use it yet? Could it be that she doesn't know about it?

That's something worth looking into at a later interval, for now, I should focus on finishing this thing off.

I raise my Excalibur and plunge it into the floor.

The moment I do so, a weird noise resounds within the interior of the machine as everything begins to shake up.

How much energy do I have left?

{45%}

Great.

Circulating the Holy Essence withing me, I utilize Holy Slash and send out numerous slashes in all directions around myself.

Naturally, the material this machine is made up of doesn't stand a chance against my slashes, as it easily gets cut through.

"Aruru," I say before lifting her and slamming my leg into the floor, which results in it breaking and the two of us falling to another room below.

I repeat this process a few times until we get out of the machine.

Sensing that my Destruction has spread enough, I immediately activate it.

The next moment, a loud noise resounds from within the machine's interior as it begins to shake up.

Large cracks begin to form on its exterior.

What happens next is a little surprising, as the vines begin to invade the interior of the machine through the cracks.

All of a sudden, another vine appears once again and moves right past as toward the hole I formed.

Shortly, another burst of energy is released by the machine, however, this time it's different in form and function.

Not only did it not affect the vines, but it gave off an eerie vibe.

As if sensing it, the vines all retract from the machine and back into the ground.

What's going on?

Checking the state of the machine, I find out that energy signatures I'm sensing from it are flaring up.

Shit. It's going to explode.

Suddenly, one of the 'wings' gets cleaved off as a figure approaches us.

Checking it out, I find Gabriel flying toward us.

That's good, we can get out of this in one piece.

Gift:

-Immortality

-Absolute Evasion

Having gifted Gabriel and Aruru the necessary abilities once the former was within my range, I reach my arm out to Gabriel and pull her close to myself.

As the three of us fall to the ground, the giant machine begins to act up one last time before the whole thing explodes.

The shock-wave caused by the explosion reaches us and causes some slight burns on our clothes and body.

Sensing that we're nearing the ground, I'm about to make use of Flight to break our fall, but, before I can do that, the plants on the ground begin to rise and 'catch' us.

Then, the plants proceed to slowly move us toward the ground and let us go before returning to 'normal'.

Shaking my head, I look toward the sky.

Debris is falling everywhere and there are unstable energy signatures all over the place.

Letting out a sigh, I work out my Norse magic to form a teleportation gate connected to the castle.