Chapter 169 : Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Homunculus (3)

First, let’s get one thing straight.

The Kingdom calls anyone who possesses mana a mage.

The fact that they cause supernatural phenomena that are almost mystical in the eyes of ordinary people, and because the driving force behind this is mana, mages have a sense of privilege and often act tyrannically, and many people regard them with awe.

Panika's father, Manuan, did not call himself a mage.

He considered himself just a person with the ‘unique property’ called mana.

He pursued knowledge that would be helpful to people's lives. He wasn't even interested in tricks using mana.

The special experience of his knowledge gradually changed the world and became a practical strength for people in need.

That was his everything.

Thus, he became deeply engrossed in alchemy.

At this point, some people came to mind.

Sylphinus.

Their and Panika's father's train of thought was similar.

Anyway.

People who sympathized with Manuan's will began to gather one by one.

The group formed in this way was the Homunculus.

The name of the Homunculus soon became known to the world.

Their outstanding research achievements quickly received people's attention.

Of course.

Compared to the magic that harmed, threatened and caused fear, which captured the public's eye, the attention they received was shabby.

Then one day.

The lord of Grimlok extended a hand to the Homunculus.

The lord, like Manuan, was someone with a deep interest in ‘Practical Magic’.

The two men joined hands, and eventually, Manuan led the Homunculus and settled in Grimlok.

Soon, the Homunculus, under the full support of Grimlok, achieved dazzling results day by day.

It wasn't just research achievements.

Those days were when Manuan's life shone the brightest.

He met Rosaria, started a family, and held a daughter named Panika in his arms.

“The first Automata was also born then.”

A mechanical doll brought to life by engraving an exquisite spell formation that operates on mana into soulless scrap metal.

That was the essence of alchemy.

“At that time, the lord of Grimlok supposedly said this to my father.”

The three of us stared at Panika without a word.

Panika slowly opened her mouth.

“Let's make Grimlok a Magical Engineering City.”

I don't know how that term is used in the Kingdom, but in the Empire, engineering originally refers to the skills of artisans.

It encompasses the overall craftsmanship of making useful tools for people and making life convenient.

It seems it’s not much different.

According to Panika's analogy—

That one phrase was a declaration heralding a new era and a dream that could be made reality if Automata existed.

The happiness did not last long.

The year Panika turned five, the Homunculus split for some reason.

In the process, Manuan and Rosaria lost their lives and young Panika was entrusted to a distant relative in the Imperial Capital.

All that remained by her side were the books her father had written and a few diaries.

It was a life close to confinement.

Half by her own will, half by others', cut off from the outside world, Panika spent her years delving into alchemy alone with the legacy her father left behind.

“I came back after ten years, and Grimlok had completely changed. You can tell just by looking at the outside, right? There wasn't even a swamp like this back then.”

For some reason, Grimlok was completely closed off.

Not only were there no people coming and going, but strangely, there wasn't even anyone loitering nearby.

“Was it about a month later? I made up my mind. Let's see who wins.”

And so, this underground hideout was completed.

“Kustos is an Automata I made to observe Grimlok. Though peeking in isn't as easy as I thought because of the mana barrier around the fortress.”

“So that's what happened....”

Noser trailed off.

A sniffling sound leaked from one side.

‘...Crazy.’

Bolero was secretly wiping his tears.

He's been like that ever since Panika calmly spoke of being separated from her parents by death.

‘They're both pointlessly sentimental.’

Do all people get like that when they get old?

In the end, I had no choice but to ask myself.

“Did you come back to Grimlok for revenge?”

Even with the power of Automata, it's not an easy thing to build a hideout underground and continue observing alone in solitude.

How else could this level of obsession be explained, other than by revenge?

‘If our goals align, I might be able to get help easily.’

Perhaps because it happened when she was very young, Panika's explanation had empty spots here and there.

A convincing reason for Manuan and Rosaria's deaths was missing.

Panika didn't know, but the three of us could roughly guess the reason.

‘Deiron must have appeared, and the faction that sided with him drove Manuan to his death.’

The timing also perfectly matches when that bastard appeared in the southwest region.

Above all, Deiron and Manuan's ideologies were polar opposites.

Manuan... probably didn't want to burden his only young daughter with the weight of revenge.

Although I've never been a parent, I felt I could understand that sentiment, at least a little.

“Revenge?”

“Yes. The ones who caused Manuan and Rosaria's deaths....”

“Hmm, I don't know.”

My eyebrow twitched without me realizing.

Bolero and Noser also raised their heads, looking slightly surprised by her lukewarm answer.

“The emotion of revenge, it isn't very efficient for humans, is it?”

“...What?”

“Ah, don't look at me like that! Of course, I'm upset and angry that my mom and dad died. To the point that I want to grind the bones of the bastards who did it and kill them. But that's not my focus.”

Has it been so long that the memory has faded?

The shock might have been so great that she erased the painful memory from her mind herself.

‘The reason Panika has seemed somewhat lacking since a while ago....’

Just as I was starting to feel a little sorry for her, Panika spoke as if it were no big deal.

“I need the latter part of my father's diary that's inside Grimlok.”

“Diary?”

“Yes. The essence of Automata, and the unrevealed vision of alchemy, is contained in it. I must find it.”

Panika shrugged.

“Well, if this is revenge, then I guess it's revenge. I can't let that diary fall into those bastards' hands too. I'm going to find it with my own hands and continue what my father left behind in this world until the end.”

***

There was no need to grandly explain the fact that we were the ones who punished the heinous man named Deiron and brought peace to this area.

As I said from the beginning, I told her our goal was to annihilate the wicked Homunculus and the Mutant Automata.

“Great! In the end, we all have to go inside Grimlok anyway!”

She doesn't even ask for the reason or the background of why we must.

Well, this way is more convenient, but a feeling of unease was bound to remain.

Not because I suspected Panika, but a pure concern I felt as a person.

‘What that child urgently needs right now is to have her wounds brought out and be comforted.’

If I were Karim, I probably would have sat Panika down in front of me and tried to listen to her deeper feelings.

‘...Forget it. I don't have time to be nosy.’

Noser said with a sigh in his voice.

“Once inside, we will try our best to find traces of your parents. It's not right to turn a blind eye after hearing such a pitiful story.”

“Eh—? You say that as if you can definitely get in?”

Noser rubbed his beard with his index fingernail.

He nodded, his expression quite confident.

“It's not difficult. Whether it's Mutant Automata or whatever, those damn mechanical dolls will be swept away with one shot of my Aura.”

“Aha, I've seen it in a book. The Aura of a knight.”

“Hmph. Good that you know. I was just wondering if I had to explain that with my own mouth.”

Panika clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Not a chance. Did you know? The essence of Aura and mana is the same.”

A lengthy explanation followed, which, to summarize, was this.

The walls of Grimlok are lined with a device that absorbs mana.

Therefore, Aura, which has the same properties as mana, wouldn't work.

“It's a structure that distributes the power absorbed from the outside to the Mutant Automata inside Grimlok.”

“...You expect me to believe that? You have a tendency to speak carelessly because you think we don't know anything.”

“Believe it or not, go try it then. Your Aura, mister, will just end up making the Mutant Automata stronger.”

“It's not mister....”

“Yes, Sir Knight.”

It was hard for me to believe as well.

Absorbing Aura?

It gave me goosebumps to think that such a thing existed in the world.

But there's no need to determine its truthfulness right now. A

s long as an entrance exists, the only way in isn't just to stupidly smash the walls from the outside with Aura.

“There's no way to get inside the fortress from the outside. All the entrances are sealed.”

The three of us just blinked as if frozen.

“What does that mean? The entrances are sealed?”

“Geez, I told you. There are absolutely no people coming or going.”

I definitely remember her saying that.

But I didn't know she meant it literally.

Bolero suddenly got angry.

“It makes no sense for it to be completely blocked off! Then how did Deiron communicate with the bastards inside?”

“I don't know what a Deiron is, but anyway, it's certain there's no door to get inside from the outside. A circuit of electric spell formations is running on top of the walls. The moment you pass over it, you'll be roasted whole.”

“...If there was no way at all, you wouldn't be so relaxed right now.”

“As expected, you've seemed quick-witted from the start, mister.”

...I'm not a mister.

The moment I felt a surge of anger, Panika spread something like a map on the desk.

“It's a blueprint of the Grimlok fortress. My father was in charge of the wall repair construction. Well, it seems there were proper gates back then, though.”

Even looking at it, nothing registered in my head.

On the outlines of the fortress as seen from above, unknown numbers and symbols were densely written.

The more I looked, the more my head throbbed.

Fortunately, I wasn't the only one. Noser complained.

“So is there a way or not?”

“The defenses of the Grimlok fortress are entirely controlled by the spell formation circuit. To put it simply, whether it's surveillance or physical defense, it all runs automatically by the spell formation circuit designed by the Homunculi.”

“So you're saying there's a way to stop that circuit.”

Is it some kind of giant Mechanism Formation?

Just then, Panika pointed at me and winked.

“Correct. I've secured a path to the control unit.”

“There's no way such an important facility would be on the outside, right?”

“That's right. It's a tunnel that leads inside the fortress.”

Panika turned, and from under a shelf behind her, she pulled something out.

It looked similar to the Automata that brought us fruit earlier.

“This friend's name is Talpa. For a whole six months, it dug that long tunnel all by itself. And as soon as it completed its mission, it became a very glorious pile of scrap.”

Panika touched the corner of her eye with her finger.

For some reason, the atmosphere felt like we should be mourning.

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