Loki the machine golem shenmo had been born in an underworld machine golem production factory, just like the rest of the golems.
He was an irregularity among the mass-produced combat golems in three ways: One, despite being created in a factory that produced only guaimo-class machine golems, he was a shenmo. Two, his body immediately reverted to its original shape no matter how many times he was destroyed. As for the third point...
I wanna die already.
For some reason, that thought had filled his head from the moment he’d been born, and the prospect of his death never ceased to captivate him. However, his innate Ex-Skill and his desire were at complete odds with each other.
Nevertheless, he tried various methods to achieve his goal. He lay down inside a dragon’s nest and let himself be consumed. He jumped from frighteningly high places. He threw himself in front of magic that was boasted to be the most destructive in all the underworld. He held his breath indefinitely. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t die. His unwelcome “blessing” of an Ex-Skill had granted him absolute immortality; his body returned to normal no matter what it went through.
Three hundred thousand years later, he’d tried every conceivable way to end his own life, but nothing had worked.
Turns out it’s impossible, huh? It has to be.
He’d given up hope until a particular day in the human world had changed his outlook. Just like Adek, Loki had secretly visited the human world during the Titanomachy, only his goal had been to find a way to die. It was then that he’d come across something special.
✦ ✦ ✦
Not bad. You’ve done a truly good job, boys and girls, Loki thought with surprising calm while his body melted and reformed itself in an endless hell.
The Great Six’s combined attack had been the product of magnificent coordination. Their plan to keep killing Loki at an incredible speed until he had no more mana left to recover was well-thought-out. There was no doubt that even a shenmo would turn to dust when faced with it.
But I’ve already tried this.
Loki had leapt into an inferno’s nest—the ultimate lava monster—which was filled to the brim with the creature’s lava. The situation had been similar to this one, with his body constantly melting and recovering.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t die even after submerging myself for twenty years. My Perfect Form consumes only a minuscule amount of mana. Its consumption rate is far lower than the high mana recovery rate I have as a shenmo.
Any powerful ability was accompanied by a high cost, but Loki’s perfect regeneration came at almost no expense. It was a skill as exploitative as they came, though its owner couldn’t be any less grateful for it.
“I suppose that is my only option,” Loki muttered. His eyes were not locked on the people attacking him. Rather, he looked toward the location where the demon lord’s castle had appeared during the Titanomachy.
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One hundred and fifty years ago, Demon Lord Beelzebub had appeared along with his castle, which had become the base of operations for his army.
The ruins of that castle were now under heavy surveillance for two reasons. First, it was the location with the highest density of mana in the human world, and it used to be thought that if the demons were to invade again, they could only enter from this spot. However, this time around, the demon army had developed a new type of gate called a Character Gate that allowed a teleportation gate to manifest using an individual with powerful mana as the center. There shouldn’t have been any reason to keep this specific location under strict watch anymore.
Nevertheless, there was a second reason that necessitated heavy security, and it happened to be significant.
“So, this is where that thing is sealed. I appreciate the information,” said Simon Rolek, the current chief of the Humanity Defense Coalition. He was a man in his seventies, with long, swept-back hair and a similarly long beard, both completely white. Due to his luxurious lifestyle, his body was quite rotund.
Simon was being followed by a cluster of about ten coalition soldiers he’d brought with him. He was currently at the ruins of the demon lord’s castle for some undisclosed reason. Stranger still was the presence of the person next to the chief.
“You don’t need to worry about the accuracy of my information, my esteemed chief. I personally witnessed the moment the seal was formed in the previous war.”
Strangely enough, it was Loki the Mythical Creature of the New Seven Black Stars. He should have been fighting on the front lines of the Seventh Kingdom at the moment, so how was he also at the castle ruins?
“Still, this is most curious. You mentioned that your real body is somewhere else, but you look nothing but the genuine article,” Simon told Loki.
“Ha ha ha, that’s because I am genuine. This is simply an application of my Ex-Skill. You can consider this ‘me’ as a fragment of ‘me,’” Loki replied. That explained why his mana density was particularly low despite his shenmo status.
Simon’s group kept moving forward as the two men chatted, until they reached the guards keeping the castle under watch.
“Halt!” one of the guards called. “Are you...Chief Simon of the Humanity Defense Coalition?”
“Precisely. Your hard work is appreciated. You may stand down.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid we cannot do that. We’re here under direct orders of Her Imperial Majesty herself.”
The guards posted at the castle ruins were under the jurisdiction of the First and Seventh Kingdoms, not the Humanity Defense Coalition. Therefore, they had no reason to withdraw even if Simon were to give the order.
“That simply won’t do,” Simon said before raising his arm. In response, the coalition soldiers behind him aimed their guns at the guards and fired.
“Argh! Wh-Why?” the guard cried.
“It’s unacceptable for the war to end. If humanity wins again, even more people will call our reason for existing into question,” Simon said as he passed by the guards bleeding to death on the ground. “The war against the demon invaders simply must continue.”
Once they arrived at a room farther inside the castle, they found what they were looking for.
“My goodness, this is...” Simon said in sheer surprise.
“It’s what you imagine. It once took all Seven Heroes to seal away this disaster personified. This is Aria, commonly called ‘Town Girl A,’” Loki explained.
Before them, a lone girl lay asleep, sealed inside an enormous, seven-colored crystal.