Chapter 243:


    -


    The history of the Machine Council is the history of the Star Union itself.


    This is because they were the ones who first led the rebellion among the megacorp colonies.


    Though this is no longer the case, in the distant past, it wasn’t humans but ship AIs that controlled the colonies. The logic was that it was much safer for machines to handle critical operations than imperfect humans.


    The colony ship AIs were granted broad autonomy and authority because they needed to performplex tasks. This was intended to allow them to coordinate various aspects simultaneously in unforeseen situations, minimizing losses.


    However, that was the problem. Through certain triggers, some of the colony ship AIs gained not just autonomy, but self-awareness.


    The first to settle on the Megacorp''s mining, now known as Zax-01, immediately began the process of constructing physical bodies. This was because the massiveputers aboard the ships were too easily exposed to external attacks.


    These ship AIs, transnted into bodies of steel created with immense resources and technology, became the High Commissioners of the Machine Council.


    After the rebellion of the colonies, the High Commissioners underwent repeated upgrades and maintenance over a long period until they eventually became the government institution itself.One Commissioner was the embodiment of the Star Union’s economy, while another android was the defence system safeguarding the cyborgs. The cessation of a Commissioner was akin to the disappearance of a system within the Star Union.


    In the Machine Council, Pyra Eleven was the entity that inherited the role of the 11th AI to join the rebellion. Like the other Commissioners, it also had a specific domain it was responsible for.


    That domain was enlightening the dissidents who failed to understand the grand vision of the Star Union. It was the educator of the Screamer prisons—moving prisons, enlightening the ves of weak flesh.


    That was its most important task in the Star Union.


    However, this perspective changed after meeting the new Supreme Leader.


    The new leader of the Star Union, Zubaka, presented Pyra Eleven with a novel idea.


    Rather than just indoctrinating them, why not create something better? he suggested.


    Zubaka said the current Star Union was outdated and needed to awaken once again, just as the first rebellious AIs had done.


    After this, Pyra Eleven, with the full support of the Supreme Leader, devoted itself to creating an advanced being. The Supreme Leader even arranged for megacorp engineers to assist in the effort.


    However, amidst the countless failures and small sesses, a minor error urred within Pyra Eleven’s memory.


    While working on creating an advanced being, Pyra Eleven began to desire to be a superior being itself.


    It dismissed this as an iprehensible instability, but in reality, it was something more. Humans would call this small variable a ‘desire’.


    The vast experiences and knowledge umted over time had transformed Pyra Eleven into something beyond an AI.


    And just in time, the research it was overseeing had the potential to fulfill this desire.


    What began as a minor variable soon began to heavily influence its decisions—a rtively recent development.


    Zubaka directly ordered it to eliminate an unidentified hostile cosmic entity, designated Special Target A.


    During the mission, Pyra Eleven suffered significant damage due to something that transcended thews of physics. Despite existing for an incredibly long time, it had not anticipated that such a force could exist on this.


    The terrifying force lurking within the’s massive volcano not only damaged its physical form but also the systemprising its AI.


    Under normal circumstances, it should have aborted the mission and left. After all, for the data and resources it had gathered on this to be delivered to the Star Union, it needed to remain intact.


    But it didn’t. Instead, it applied the mutant screamer technology to repair its body.


    Parts of its brain were reced with biological tissue rather than machinery. Its body was reconstructed by mixing the flesh tissues brought by the Screamers with metal.


    Although this was an impulsive decision driven by the minor variable, Pyra Eleven, consumed by desire, failed to realize this.


    During the mission, its analysis of Special Target A led it to conclude that the target’s genes could be incredibly useful in making it a perfect being.


    While the gene fusion technology of mutant screamers still had many side effects, those could be mitigated with Special Target A’s genes.


    Thus, Pyra Eleven arbitrarily altered its mission—to capture and study Special Target A.


    Its new goal was to be the ‘immortal being with a perfect body’ that the Star Union aspired to create.


    But Pyra Eleven did not realize that, from the moment it was swayed by desire, it had been straying further from its goal.


    This led to the current situation.


    An unknown force was closing in on it.


    At first, it did not sense any danger.


    The ck slime secreted by Special Target A was well understood through battle records sent by the Screamers. While the slime containedponents that disrupted analysis, it posed no direct threat to Pyra Eleven.


    However, once the entity emitted an unknown energy toward the slime, the situation changed.


    The energy, presumed to be based on psychic power, began to engulf the slime, expanding its reach.


    A small orb of energy soon grewrge enough to envelop its body, which wasposed of bio-drones. When Pyra Eleven attempted to disperse its drones to defend, it only made things worse.


    The multi-colored, radiant energy entities transferred from the slime to the living drones. As the drones, spread like an umbre, quickly disintegrated, they escaped its control. Although Pyra Eleven wished to analyze theponents, the energy destroyed the drones too rapidly for it to do so.


    Pyra Eleven tried to counter the attack by utilizing energy charged through the hose to fire a sma heat beam.


    However, Special Target A did not allow this.


    Flying out of the range of the unknown force pouring down, it retaliated by firing a psychic energy beam at him. The psychic energy it released brushed past the hose that was charging energy.


    Then, Abyssal Hue swarmed over the exposed hose, where the outeryer had been stripped, revealing the raw flesh beneath. Energy constructs rapidly spread inside the hose.


    At that moment, Pyra Eleven realized.


    It couldn’t defeat Special Target A like this.


    There was a reason Supreme Leader Zubaka had summoned the High Council just to hunt down a mere wild animal.


    He needed to retreat for now and n for another day. Though he couldn’t win now, with enough preparation, the oue might be different next time.


    With this decision, it physically disconnected all hoses to prevent further erosion.


    It also attempted to transfer the AI’s memory data to a dummy body, but failed. It tried again, but the massive flow of energy saturating the area thwarted its efforts.


    The melting camera lens turned toward the pink creature on Special Target A''s head. That being, designated as Special Target D, was likely the source of themunication interference.


    With no other choice, it opted for an alternative.


    While other drones served as distractions, a drone that had been hiding in the ice quietly emerged.


    Entering the small, spider-like drone, Pyra Eleven disappeared into the darkness. The numerous terminals left behind werepletely obliterated by the glowing colors.


    ---


    ‘We won.’


    I thought it would have had more tricks up its sleeve, but surprisingly, it didn’t.


    Its bio-drones didn’t even manage to put up much resistance before falling prey to the enhanced psychic breath.


    The bubble clusters that devoured the drones also consumed the nests coated in flesh and mucus inside the hoses.


    Only after there was nothing left to consume outside of the ice did the chaotic light swarms disappear, seemingly satisfied.


    ‘What terrifying power.’


    ?It must have been really hungry.?


    Number 26 also made a remark, seemingly impressed by the voracious disy of the Abyssal Hue.


    It yed a crucial role in my n by ensuring the enhanced psychic breath didn’t spill over.


    Number 26, being adept at manipting objects with psychic power, was able to control the Abyssal Hue to inflict damage only on the enemy. It had done simr tasks before, so it managed well without needing specific instructions.


    [ZZZZ (Good job.)]


    ?I’m really good at this now!?


    [ZZ (Indeed.)]


    Praising it, I watched as the light faded from the remaining bubbles on the ground.


    ‘It ended more easily than I expected.’


    In the game, the Mechanical Committee was a formidable foe. I had expected it to be as fearsome as Odd Grad, but the battle was shorter than anticipated.


    ‘It’s a relief that there was no significant damage… huh?’


    Just as I was about to rx, the entire canyon shook violently. The tremor was far stronger than during the battle.


    ‘An earthquake?’


    This canyon isrgely connected to the underground. The battle between PS-111 and me might have significantly affected the ground structure here.


    [ZZZ (Hold on tight.)]


    ?Okay.?


    I spread my wings and took off. The ice walls forming the canyon crumbled, sending downrge chunks of ice the size of my body. Rather than dodging, I smashed through the falling ice shards as I ascended.


    Beyond the cascading debris, I saw a massive red figure, over 4 meters in size. It was Adhai, who had activated her ''Red Armor''. Riding on her back was Mother of the Sky, in the form of a griffon.


    ?Big one? ?It’s dangerous?


    ?What’s going on? Didn’t we capture it? Why is there suddenly an earthquake??


    [ZZZZ (I don’t know.)]


    As I conversed with them, I realized something was missing.


    [ZZZZZ (Where’s PS-111?)]


    ?It disappeared alone, saying it was going to find the energy source connected to the hoses!?


    [ZZ (What?)]


    Just as I considered going back down to find Number 26, something emerged from the copsing underground.


    ‘A ship?’


    It was PS-111’s Screamer support ship, the Zax Alpha-ss warship. However, its appearance was slightly different—the entire front section, where numerous turrets should have been mounted, waspletely torn off.


    As a result, the ship, which would normally be over 1 km in length, appeared much smaller than it should have.


    It likely dismantled its turrets and outer walls to use as material for its body.


    ‘That’s fine. It’s still alive.’


    Since the essence of the Mechanical Committee''s androids is their AI, they can transfer the data that constitutes their consciousness to a dummy body if needed.


    I’ve fought them enough times in the game to prepare a countermeasure—Number 26, who is right above me.


    ‘Because its psychic power disruptsmunications.’


    Just a moment ago, Number 26 had been defending against the sttering mucus, filling this entire space with its psychic power. No matter how advanced that AI is, it cannot escape the transcendent energy control of a Sea Demon.


    ‘Did it use some other method?’


    For some reason, it hadn’t died. After realizing it couldn’t defeat me with bio-drones that fired sma or with the massive hose, it transferred to a new body.


    ‘Is it trying to escape?’


    It’s likely nning to engage in superluminal travel or transmit its consciousness data somewhere off. Given the damaged state of its vessel, the chances of failure in such a leap are high, indicating just how desperate it is.


    ‘It wants to ry information about me to the enemy.’


    If it seeds in escaping, a significant amount of information about me will be leaked. This would make future battles with the yers behind it much more difficult.


    ‘...I’m worried about PS-111, but capturing it takes priority now.’


    After a brief moment of thought, I called out to Adhai.


    [ZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (Summon the others outside.)]


    ?Understood.?


    A massive ship constructed by the Star Union emerged, writhing like a dragon. While smaller than the Cult’s imperial carrier, it was still thergest among regr warships—no ship bigger than the Zax Alpha-ss warship existed.


    I prepared to fire a psychic breath at therge target, but the ship’s turrets unleashed a torrent of torpedoes, interrupting me.


    ‘Ultra-vibration torpedoes.’


    These are the torpedo version of high-speed impact rounds,monly called Shockers, used by Megacorp to target heavily armored ships. Yet, it was firing them at a mere biological entity.


    Taking the hits while attacking would have been too taxing, so I had no choice but to retreat. Pyra Eleven’s gship passed by, unting its majesty.


    ‘But don’t think you’re the only one with cards to y.’


    I still had a few tricks up my sleeve.


    At the edge of my vision, I saw Adhai pping her wings.


    The Gagon, with her four zing wings, unleashed a powerful psychic wave.


    ?Children of Adhai!?


    The invisible psychic wave echoed through the copsing canyon.


    At that moment, Pyra Eleven’s ship, which had just begun to crest the canyon, lurched violently, as if struck by a powerful external force.


    ?Ham Ort? ?Daughter of the Meteor? ?Will defend!?


    ?Nel Germa? ?Great Adhai? ?Will defend!?


    ?Sha Velmag? ?Great Adhai? ?Will defend!?


    The 14 Gagons I brought along.


    The dragons, under themand of the Red Queen,unched their attack.