Chapter 120

Episode 120. Clockwork Jesus (3)

****

[Director, are you okay? Right now, there are only you and a few Popos on the deck.]

“I’m fine.”

[Director, please come inside the ship immediately. We can’t tell how much radiation you’ve been exposed to.]

The radio.

I frantically pressed the radio button. I had no idea where the Clockwork Angel was. There was a chance it had survived the nuclear explosion.

Right now, radiation exposure wasn’t the most important thing.

What if the Clockwork Angel wasn’t caught in the fireball of the nuclear explosion? What if it was just swept away by the water column and submerged? If it could die from submerging, we wouldn’t be fighting near the sea in the first place.

“Bridge, activate the radar immediately. We need to confirm as soon as possible whether the monster survived and where it is.”

[Director, please calm down first.]

Ah, right. The Geiger counter.

It wasn’t like there was no way to tell how much radiation I’d been exposed to. I pulled the Geiger counter from my belt and scanned the area. The radiation didn’t seem too high. But—

The ambient radiation around me was 6 microsieverts per minute. Not a small amount.

About twice the radiation dose you’d get from flying on a plane? Still, it didn’t seem like my life was in immediate danger, so that was a relief.

Does the Popo Serum prevent cancer?

For some reason, I doubted it.

I’d have to ask when I got back to headquarters. Anyway, I wasn’t showing any of the typical symptoms of acute radiation exposure, so that was good.

“This is the Director. Report your search results.”

The bridge hesitated for a moment.

[Uh, the ship almost capsized. Things are chaotic right now, so it’ll take a few minutes for the ship to regain normal function. Some of the equipment and personnel are damaged.]

“You have 45 seconds. Get the radar and sonar running and locate the Clockwork Angel.”

[Understood.]

I picked up the binoculars from the deck and scanned the sea. Nothing was visible. Where could it be? Surely, if it was caught in the nuclear explosion, it must be dead. Maybe rusting away in the deep sea.

Please.

[Director! High power—]

My hopes were dashed.

“Just call it that bastard.”

[That bastard is approaching! Director, you need to return to the bridge immediately!]

What would I do back at the bridge?

“Bridge, do what you can. I’ll do what I can from the deck.”

[Director—]

Radio off.

****

Something was approaching at high speed.

What else could it be but the Clockwork Angel?

I took cover behind a structure. Moments later, a thunderous wind sound echoed, and the Clockwork Angel landed on the deck.

[Your defeat is absolute.]

Clank, clank. The sound of iron feet hitting the deck. The unsettling metallic noise and the ticking of clockwork continued.

[The nuclear bomb was surprising. The anti-aircraft fire was also much stronger than I remembered. But humanity today is weak.]

The hundreds of brass blades that made up the Clockwork Angel’s wings clinked.

“This is your grave, monster!”

[If you wanted to stop me, you should’ve brought a fleet, not just a ship. The Machine God’s paladins will burn your cities, and the Machine God’s angels will punish your civilization.]

The angel began walking toward me. It seemed to know exactly where I was.

Even though I had a gun, seeing how the 20mm Vulcan cannon from the close-defense system had no effect earlier—

Bullets would be a waste of time. I signaled the Popos, and a few of them carefully brought over a black box.

I took the black box as quietly as possible. If it made a loud noise, the monologue might stop, and I could be attacked in one strike.

[The victors of the Seventh Supernatural War will be the followers of our Machine God. It’s not a world for the weak cross-worshipers, the black ones, or the blood cultists to claim.]

Squeak.

The Clockwork Angel’s wings were covered in blades instead of feathers. Those blades cut through the ship’s steel plates like butter.

[Now, Director. It’s time to choose.]

How strong is this monster physically? Is it purely mechanical? Or should I consider it partially physical, like the divine beings or monsters I’ve seen before? This—

[Will you accept the Machine God’s baptism and prepare for the world to come, or will you die trapped in the Foundation’s cage……]

[There you are.]

I held my breath. I finally faced the monster I’d been fighting. A mechanical doll made of ivory and brass.

[You’ve felt it too, Director.]

[We are different from other hostile groups. We have the conviction to show humanity a new direction for survival, and the strength to fight for that conviction. Have you seen our power?]

The Clockwork Angel’s eyes looked down at me. A sophisticated clockwork camera made of brass, ivory, and steel. I gripped “it” tightly.

Posture.

One chance, one stroke.

Blackness flooded.

****

To put it simply, this is the situation. The supernatural phenomena related to the King of Darkness discovered this year. Five types so far.

Niguras-1.

The avatar of the King of Darkness. A giant, octopus-like monster with flight capabilities.

Niguras-2.

The otherworldly mage, Hasti. A worshiper of the King of Darkness and the master of the Black Tower.

Niguras-3.

A giant flower found at the epicenter. A phoenix-like flower that bloomed at the epicenter of the nuclear bomb meant to kill a god.

Niguras-4.

The most enigmatic. A black egg laid by Niguras-1, containing a black bird. A bird unborn, destined to destroy a world.

Niguras-5.

An artifact found among the followers of the King of Darkness. A black blade forged from iron smelted from the blood of hundreds, tempered in fire made from human bones, and quenched in human blood.

No. Not quenched in human blood. A blade that passed through the epicenter of a nuclear bomb, the pinnacle of human power.

The most powerful artifact I’ve ever seen.

What I held in my hand was Niguras-5. The cursed greatsword Nanami retrieved, forged from the blood of hundreds, thousands.

Blackness, darkness flooded.

The darkness obscured the stars in the night sky, the moon, and the remaining darkness transformed into a chorus worshiping its master.

Across all realities, all dimensions.

Tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of eyes stared at me. Who dared to wield that cursed object, who the sword was aimed at.

The insignificant creature realized in that moment.

Brass feathers scattered like pollen.

Clank, clank. Clockwork spilled onto the deck. Hands, elbows, knees, the insides of the torso. Everything shattered like rain.

[You. Since the Sixth War—]

The greatsword became unbearably heavy, and I accidentally dropped it. If I can’t use the sword, what do I use for the final blow?

Bang!

I swung the rifle’s stock and smashed the angel’s head. Gears and clock parts spilled onto the deck like splattered blood.

Finally. This time, I didn’t even have the strength to collapse. I threw the gas mask into the sea and just fell sideways.

This time, I almost died. Forget the battle and radiation, if I hadn’t taken the Popo Serum, I would’ve died from exhaustion long ago.

****

The crystal clock in my pocket ticked.

[Dr. Kim, sorry to bother you while you’re resting.]

“What is it?”

I lay sprawled out. The dawn sun was rising in the east. Or at least, I think it’s east. The sun rises in the east, right?

[Search the Clockwork Angel’s corpse. There might be something that stores its soul, similar to how I do. We need to make sure it’s dealt with properly.]

“Ah. Understood……”

[I’m curious, Dr. Kim. If Ganymede is definitely a supernatural phenomenon of the Machine God, what about me? Even if I’m not made of clockwork?]

I didn’t feel like moving.

The field investigation team will handle it.

****

[Regarding the earthquake]

[Author: Support Department Head Lee Hwa]

[We’re screwed, Kongji]

[Let’s think of a way to clean this up. For now, we’ve had the Korean government officially claim that an earthquake occurred in the sea west of Taean County……]

[At least we caught the Clockwork Angel this time, so maybe we can let it slide. The losses were pretty severe in many ways.]

****

[Clockwork Devices]

[Author: Research Department Head Lee Se-ah]

[Clockwork devices are truly the worst.]

[Since they’re machines, the anesthetics or poisons we usually use don’t work on them. And their physical strength is top-notch, being made of metal.]

[Considering supernatural phenomena like Ganymede that are information-based, they’re probably the strongest in non-physical ways too.]

[Aside from the Colorless Orchestra, they’re likely the most powerful and threatening hostile group.]

[The angel’s target is its eyes. Probably the eyes of the Machine God or its avatar. The goal is to reassemble and resurrect the Machine God.]

[It reminds me of Project Blue Rose. But trying to stitch together multiple supernatural phenomena like that…… the results aren’t always controllable, as you know.]