Chapter 277

Chapter 277

I consider Ilay Carthica a friend.  

He is not the only person I can call a friend.  

However, Ilay is undoubtedly the one closest to the essence of what a friend truly is.  

Ilay is neither my subordinate nor someone beneath me. Likewise, he is not my superior.  

Ilay and I have always been equals. We had our fair share of small clashes, but neither of us ever overwhelmed the other.  

That said, we were not comrades bound by a single purpose. We occasionally joined hands, but our pursuits were always different.  

We were neither in a hierarchical relationship nor allies with shared dreams and goals.  

Even without personal gain, even if we walked separate paths, we could throw ourselves into the fire for each other.  

It sounds simple, but such a relationship is incredibly difficult to maintain.  

‘Ilay came all this way to save me.’

I watched as Mushir al-Kashura and Ilay faced off. Both of them were using full-body prosthetics. Clad in mechanical armor that stripped away their humanity, they had drawn the blades of their minds.  

Ilay stood alone against Mushir al-Kashura. There were no signs of reinforcements or subordinates.  

"You not only found my hideout, but you also waited for me with unwavering patience. All for a friend who might be dead or alive."  

- Whether Luka is dead or alive, the fact remains that you will die by my hand. If Luka is dead, this is revenge. If he is alive, it is a rescue.  

Ilay's voice was more mechanical than Kashura’s. The Legion’s voice system was far from resembling that of a real human.  

"I must commend your efforts in coming all this way. I imagine you had to bear no small cost. So, let me tell you—Lukaus Custoria is still alive. He’s inside the spaceship behind me, watching us through the monitor as we speak."  

Ilay lifted his fox-shaped head, looking toward the spaceship. His torn, glowing eyes flickered, as if they had locked onto mine.  

- This hideout is quite unstable. I won’t use firearms. You wouldn’t want this place reduced to rubble, would you?  

"Of course not. If things go awry, I might lose Luka. So, I propose an old-fashioned duel. I assume that’s what you want as well."  

Mushir al-Kashura disengaged his high-powered weaponry. The various heavy firearms attached to his full-body prosthetic clattered to the ground.  

Clank, clang, thud.  

A series of heavy sounds echoed through the space.  

Ilay, too, discarded the firearm he had prepared.  

If Ilay’s Legion and Kashura engaged in a firefight here, mutual destruction was almost certain.

The two chose a course of action that would allow them to achieve their respective goals while avoiding mutual destruction.  

‘The only reason two enemies can trust each other is because I exist.’  

Neither Kashura nor Ilay wanted me to be harmed.  

“You were one of the candidates for Unity as well. But I have no interest in a brain that loses to mere machines. I know the truth. You’re being consumed by the Legion.”  

Kashura raised his index finger and pointed at Ilay.  

Bzzzzzt.  

Ilay’s glowing eyes flickered ominously before stabilizing at the center as if regaining focus.  

- It’s a relief to even have a mind left to be consumed. Monsters like you think your will is stronger than others, but in reality, you never had a human heart to begin with. You were just born in a human shell, an aberrant creature mimicking humanity while sneering at others for being weak.  

Ilay reached behind his back, grasped the hilt of a stored blade, and lifted it.  

Screeeeeech.  

Ilay’s sword had an ordinary width but was extraordinarily long—a single-edged greatsword as tall as the Legion itself.  

The grotesque blade was Ilay’s personal Legion weapon.  

“‘Catastrophe,’ huh? Quite the grandiose name.”  

Kashura read the inscription on Ilay’s blade as he spoke.  

Kashura and Ilay closed the distance between them. Kashura deployed two auxiliary arms from his back, gripping four melee weapons in total.  

Clank, thud.  

Parts of Kashura’s outer armor fell away. It seemed he was lightening his load in preparation for close combat.  

‘Ilay’s Legion is lightweight, based on Achilleus. Kashura wouldn’t want to fall behind in speed.’  

Was Ilay aware of Kashura’s condition?  

Kashura no longer had Zvely’s brain. He could no longer exhibit the same transcendent combat abilities as before.  

‘But that just means his previous combat prowess was on an absurd level. Even without Zvely’s brain, Kashura is still plenty strong.’  

Ilay wouldn’t know that Kashura’s combat abilities had declined. Even if he suspected it, he couldn’t be certain. Our way was always to assume the worst. Ilay would fight as if Kashura’s strength remained unchanged.  

‘Setting conditions and limiting firepower in this confined space must be his way of increasing his chances of victory.’  

Kashura’s glowing eyes also locked onto Ilay. He, too, recognized Ilay as a formidable opponent. He would utilize every function of his metallic brain to confront him.  

Kashura swung the axe-lance in his right hand in a massive arc. The sheer force of the downward strike was enough to bend the metal shaft.

Ilay did not evade the axe-lance but instead caught it with his agile greatsword.  

Ka—Aaaaaang!  

A deafening roar erupted, reaching all the way to the spaceship where I was.  

The battle between the full-body prosthetics was both fierce and heavy. Their weapons were as destructive as the sturdy armor they wielded.  

‘Ilay’s specialty is mid-range combat using firearms. That shouldn’t change even in Legion form.’  

Firearms powerful enough to damage full-body prosthetics were immensely destructive. Firing them here could completely demolish the hideout.  

‘Ilay has to fight while sealing away his own specialty.’  

Ilay desperately swung his greatsword, Catastrophe, striking and defending in turn. It was a straightforward, brute-force clash without any clever tactics.  

‘You don’t normally fight like this. You’re more cunning, more devious…’  

The nickname “Carthica’s Fox” wasn’t given to him for nothing.  

Kwaa-jik!  

The clash of high-powered full-body prosthetics left the docking bay in shambles. Even the metal tiles cracked and shattered as easily as hardened rock.  

It was when Ilay was just about to shift from defense to offense.  

Wooong!  

For a brief moment, the gravity inside the hideout disappeared.  

‘Kashura turned the gravity control system off and then back on.’  

Kashura must have been synchronized with the hideout’s systems. He had full control over the gravity, and if necessary, he could open the docking bay’s outer doors to create a pressure difference.  

The sudden loss of gravity caused Ilay to lose the momentum of his attack.  

“Would you call this cowardly?”  

Kashura activated the thrusters on his chest, widening the distance as he maneuvered through the zero-gravity space.  

Kiiiing!  

With an unpleasant noise, the gravity returned. Kashura and Ilay, regaining their weight, landed on the floor.  

- Not at all. I would have done the same. You have to use everything at your disposal.  

Ilay bent his knees and waist slightly, letting his sword hang low.  

‘Ilay must be uncertain. He can’t tell if Kashura is holding back or if his combat abilities are truly compromised.’  

I wanted to rush outside and shout. I wanted to tell Ilay that Kashura was incomplete, that he had a real chance at victory.  

But the spaceship’s door remained firmly shut. I was powerless, forced to watch the situation unfold through the monitor.  

Chiik, chijijik, chik, chik.  

A grating noise so harsh it hurt my ears erupted. The monitor displaying Kashura and Ilay went black.  

- Lu, Lu, Lu…  

A different voice crackled through the speakers.  

Chik, chik.  

The monitor flickered back on, and there, moving on the screen, was a girl with fluffy orange hair.  

‘Barbara?’

Barbara’s avatar moved within the virtual space, staring at me through the monitor.  

- Ah, ah, ah, can you hear me? Hee, hee, just look at you. It’s hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. The great Luka reduced to nothing more than a human worm.  

Barbara flashed an unnaturally exaggerated grin. The deep wrinkles forming at the corners of her mouth were eerily unsettling.  

“Save the mockery for later. If you’re here to help, get to the point.”  

The blood in my head boiled, as if surging upward from my previously sunken state.  

‘Barbara is here.’  

Ilay and Barbara had joined forces. Was this Ilay’s plan all along?  

‘Kashura is locked in a fight against a formidable opponent, Ilay. On top of that, he’s linked his brain to the hideout’s systems. Even with multiple brains, he won’t be able to focus on the spaceship right now. Barbara took advantage of that gap to hack into this place. Her real body must be somewhere nearby.’  

On the monitor, Barbara snapped her fingers. Immediately, her orange hair began to extend endlessly, rapidly filling the entire screen.  

Chiiiik, chik.  

The other monitors in the control room flickered to life. Barbara’s writhing hair slithered across them as if spreading throughout the entire ship—a visual representation of her takeover.  

- It’s a bit tricky, but nothing I can’t handle. The dummy setup is complete, and I’m taking control. Luka, you and I are leaving this place. No matter how advanced Kashura’s prosthetic body is, I doubt he installed a spaceflight function.  

“What about Ilay?”  

- Isn’t it obvious? Ilay Carthica has no intention of leaving here alive. He’s planning to become nothing more than stardust alongside Kashura.  

There was no need to overthink it—I could see through Ilay’s entire plan.  

‘Ilay believes Kashura’s combat ability far surpasses his own. He only came here to buy time.’  

Barbara’s orange hue was gradually overtaking the monitors in the control room.  

- Luka, you don’t have a choice. And the timing couldn’t be better. You’re under my jurisdiction now. You’re missing your arms and legs—you won’t be causing any trouble. Thanks to that, I can finally keep my promise to Giselle. Today is a good day. A truly beautiful day.  

Barbara hummed to herself.  

“Patch me through to Ilay.”  

- Ilay told me not to listen to anything you say and to just take you away.  

“Kashura is weakened. It’s a winnable fight.”  

- Whether he has a chance or not has nothing to do with me.  

I parted my lips, then bit down and glared at the monitor.  

“Kashura told me about your origins. Aren’t you curious?”

Barbara was still smiling, but it was as if the screen had frozen—her lips didn’t twitch in the slightest.  

- That’s quite an interesting thing to say. My origins? I was born in the lower districts of Akbaran…  

“You can suppress rejection toward other people’s prosthetics and bodies while maintaining your own sense of self. Have you ever met anyone else in the world who can do that? I may be an unusual Irregular, but there are plenty like me out there. You, however, are truly special. Calling you an Irregular doesn’t even begin to explain it.”  

The monitors in the control room flickered simultaneously, as if Barbara had just blinked.  

- Keep talking.  

“There should be a spare prosthetic and weapons for me inside the ship. Use a drone, a robot—whatever it takes. Bring them here and attach them to me. If you don’t have those, any arms and legs will do. Just make it so I can move.”  

- Don’t be ridiculous.  

“If I can’t move, I’ll give up immediately. Or do you want to keep wasting time and opportunities by arguing with me?”  

Barbara’s avatar moved from one monitor to another. Each screen she passed through filled with static before shutting off one by one.  

Thud.  

All the monitors in the control room went dark. Barbara’s consciousness had likely left the control room and moved elsewhere.  

‘Damn it, Ilay, please… just hold on.’  

With the monitors off, I could no longer see what was happening outside. The only evidence of Ilay and Kashura’s battle was the occasional thunderous crash that echoed through the walls.  

The brief moments stretched into what felt like an eternity.  

Chiiiiik.  

The control room door opened.  

Clunk, clunk.  

A dust-covered android staggered into the room. It looked like it had been abandoned in the ship’s storage for a long time, its optical lenses dim and failing.  

Creak, screech.  

The android wobbled as it dragged a wheeled crate behind it. Inside were my equipment and prosthetic limbs.  

- If activation… fails… you’re dead… immediately.  

Barbara’s voice crackled through the android. She brought the cybernetic arm to the connection port on my shoulder.  

“Do it.”  

The android’s index finger folded back, revealing a drill.  

Chiiiiiik.  

The android began disassembling its own leg, carefully removing screws one by one to scavenge parts for my prosthetic connection.  

Beep, beep, beep.  

It studied the removed screws, then turned its gaze to my shoulder port.  

- The screws… don’t… perfectly… match. The thickness is fine, but the length is wrong. No time to find new ones.  

I knew exactly what that meant.  

‘Haah… damn it.’  

I clenched my eyes shut and nodded.  

Soon, I heard the sound of screws biting into the metal. And the screws, which exceeded the depth of the socket…  

Crack, crunch!  

…dug into my flesh and bone.  

Hmm. That hurts.

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