Chapter 186

Through the window right in front of me, I can see the horizon and skyline intertwined way out there.

Yeah. I’m flying through the sky right now.

Compared to the airship I took from Bern City to the royal castle, this one’s much smaller—but it’s still a decent-sized vessel.

From in front of the lodging, we entered the military base surrounding the castle and boarded the airship straightaway at the dock.

Come to think of it, this world has tons of machines that fly through the air.

It’s because of something called “flightstone,” an actual material. Some memories tell me it’s either a cluster of microorganisms floating using magic power or a material unaffected by gravity but attracted to magic power, which is why it’s often found on planets rich in magic.

There are various examples, but apparently, this world has a unique kind of magic power that makes things float on one side and sink on the other.

To put it simply: if you pour water and oil, the water goes down and the oil floats up. If there’s something heavy on the oil, it sinks, while something buoyant in the water floats near the boundary between the two.

That’s the kind of material we’re talking about here. In short, airships in this world use a substance that rises to a certain altitude, allowing them to move vertically.

There are layers of magic power, meaning there are types of magic that don’t mix—but who cares? I can’t use magic anyway.

According to the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s memory, I’m probably the complete opposite of magic, so even if I died and came back to life, I wouldn’t be able to use it.

So, instead of worrying about that, let’s check out the surroundings.

The front is blocked by a transparent panel, with a pilot or captain driving ahead. On either side, mechanical devices assist in steering.

And there’s a single door separating the cockpit from the passenger area.

In the middle, there’s a large round window showing the cockpit. The passenger area has seats on both sides like a bus, except each seat is plush and designed for one person—a bit different from the norm.

Polaris is already seated and resting, looking quite accustomed to it all.

Judging from Kanna’s memories, wealthy nobles often own airships, so it makes sense she’d be familiar with them.

Still, it’s rare to see airships in the capital.

Apparently, any airship approaching within a certain distance of the capital will be warned once and then shot down immediately if it continues to approach.

That’s why even Kanna had to leave the capital and head to the docking area when returning home by airship.

Oh, and by the way, flying monsters and aerial pirates also exist in this world.

That’s why our airship is equipped with defensive systems.

Zap!

Every now and then, as you look out the window, electrical shocks are fired at creatures approaching the airship.

Shocking stuff mid-air is dangerous, huh? Yep.

Anyway, thinking about Victoria’s current location…

Ah.

We’ve descended south of where Victoria is. It’s definitely faster traveling by air than on land.

But since I can’t show that I know, I quietly sat still.

Polaris didn’t talk to me either, sensing my awkwardness, so the only sound was the faint whirring of the mechanical gears.

Unlike me, who has countless movie channels running in my head, this must be a somewhat boring journey for Polaris.

My concept is simple: if someone talks to me, I’ll respond earnestly, but if they don’t, I won’t initiate conversation either. So unless something unusual happens, this trip will likely remain quiet.

Yeah.

Unless something unusual happens.

The incident occurred when Bern City was getting close.

“CRAAAH!”

Ahead of us, without warning, the small window showing part of the cockpit turned red with blood. Anyone could tell it was a fatal amount.

The only person in front was the pilot.

There were no signs of monsters appearing or enemies intruding just before this happened. So this would count as a locked-room murder…

But this is a world where non-human entities can kill people too.

Crunch!

Despite having hands capable of opening doors, a mechanical device emerged from the cockpit, its front covered in blood, blatantly revealing hostility.

Although it doesn’t match the knowledge I have—like its visual sensors glowing red—it’s clear to anyone that the machine killed the person.

BOOM!

As soon as it came out, it got slammed with a chair and exploded.

The one who threw the chair? None other than Polaris.

I thought most people around here were nice, but many handle dangerous situations calmly and efficiently. Not that they aren’t shaken—they’re clearly panicked and scared, their faces filled with shock.

They’re just pushing through it somehow.

Looking down slightly, the chair is screwed firmly into the floor. Meaning Polaris tore it off with her bare hands and threw it. Impressive.

Squeeeeak!

With another tearing sound, the chair Polaris grabbed ripped free from the floor. Oh, so the chair structure was made of steel.

Polaris tried to say something but ended up coughing a few times, bending over and pretending not to be confused at all.

“Bell, don’t go near the door. Assassins?”

“It feels more like a machine rebellion, doesn’t it?”

Click.

A noise came from behind. Turning around, I saw a humanoid mechanical device, also drenched in blood, walking toward us with what looks like the remains of a shattered teapot embedded in its torso.

Come to think of it, there were a few crew members when we boarded, and these might be their remains.

“Who’s controlling these mechanical devices?”

“It’s unlikely they’ve gained self-awareness, right?”

“A machine? That’s impossible. They might have some level of judgment, but they’re basically insects. Unless it’s a cutting-edge model, but the ones in front look pretty old. Someone must’ve given them orders.”

Even including faded memories, this level of intelligence seems… Hmm. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s strange that the world in those faded memories developed so much yet lacks artificial intelligence like this.

Tat-tat!

Just then, the blood-soaked mechanical device holding the broken teapot lunged at Polaris.

BOOM!

But Polaris swung the chair and knocked it aside.

CRASH!

It crashed into the wall and got stuck. Despite being fairly durable, it struggles to pull itself free from the bent metal plates.

“How many are there inside?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s not helpful.”

Polaris cautiously walked backward but stopped before reaching the rear door of the passenger cabin.

Three bloodied mechanical devices burst out from the rear door. Behind them, I spotted a corpse with much of its skin peeled off.

I quickly glanced at Polaris. To my relief, despite the gruesome sight, she stared coldly at the mechanical devices.

The mechanical devices creaked as they approached Polaris. Suddenly, their gears spun violently as they charged at her.

BOOM!

But Polaris deflected the attack with the chair. She ducked under the next charging machine’s arm and spun around, kicking its head with her foot.

Crunch!

Its head was torn off its body.

But the last one grabbed her torso mid-spin.

Is this how a harvester begins?

KA-BOOM!

Wow.

When the mechanical device grabbed her, Polaris’ momentum from earlier caused her leg to spin around once. Then, like a snake coiling, she wrapped her legs around the machine’s head and shoulders and slammed it to the ground.

Thanks to action-reaction, Polaris herself flew into the air, but it seemed to be part of her plan. She grabbed the ceiling and landed slightly away, assuming a martial arts stance.

Then she approached the mechanical device, which was slowly rising despite its damaged state, and jumped, delivering a powerful downward strike.

Heeek!

This time, instead of its head hitting the ground, the skeletal frame acting as its skull shattered, scattering gear fragments everywhere.

How does someone with a build similar to Rebecca manage to deliver blows like a bear swiping with its paw?

Actually, now that I think about it, late-stage Rebecca could do similar things.

After I left, Rebecca, despite lacking light or warmth, regained movement and became incredibly strong when I encountered her again much later.

Maybe magic power adds some kind of bonus to physical strength?

While marveling at this phenomenon, I watched Polaris head toward the rear door of the cabin. I followed her.

“Don’t come!”

As I reached for the door, a threatening voice came from inside. It wasn’t a warning to keep me safe but rather implied something grotesque lay within.

But I went in anyway.

I saw Polaris’ back, followed by a strong stench of blood that hit my nose.

Her clenched fists behind her were pale white.

Scattered across the corridor were shattered corpses. Judging by the scattered pieces, it looked like just one person—but no…

Ah, no, it’s not.

Under a sign reading “Crew Room,” a hand protruded from the crack of a door. Polaris noticed it too and stepped closer.

I followed her. While doing so, I casually stepped on a corpse to absorb the faint remaining warmth.

Memories, like the bodies, were fragmented but entered me nonetheless.

I confirmed the events leading up to the recent happenings.

An urgent flight meant they were hastily pulled in, feeling sad about something. No, that’s not it. The memory right before death…

Ah, I found it.

Two children were aboard, chatting idly about why they were suddenly heading to Bern City. The mechanical devices assisting with small tasks gradually surrounded them, leaving no time to react before killing them.

Because they assumed the mechanical devices surrounding them were merely attending to some task, it was even more lethal.

Polaris backed away toward the door, her face pale and rigid.

“Bell.”

“We need to figure out what happened.”

Polaris called my name upon hearing my footsteps, signaling for me not to enter. But I pushed past her, believing I might find answers inside.

There were two more.

While pretending to search the corpses, I absorbed the fading warmth. After all, newly deceased bodies retain the warmth of the departed.

Extremely faint and fragmented memories flowed into me.

“All three were killed in surprise attacks.”

“Three?”

“Counting the corridor.”

Polaris nodded solemnly. That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, the vehicle jolted, and inertia pushed us upward.

“Are we falling?”

“It seems so.”

Upon hearing my words, Polaris’ face turned paler. But we weren’t plummeting entirely—gravity hadn’t completely failed us yet; we were just descending. Someone was still in control.

Now that I think about it, there were mechanical devices on either side of the pilot, but only one came out.

I headed toward the cockpit.

“Where to?”

“The cockpit.”

Polaris followed me, muttering something about methods.

My first goal was to reach the pilot before his warmth faded, but explaining that would be unnecessary, so I pretended to move forward to resolve the situation.

---