Endless Silver Machine

Time goes back to the time when the Queen of the Bisi Empire, Ziming Yiela, opened a new chapter in the revolution——

Lilith, Aika and others said goodbye in the underground passage in the northwest district of the imperial capital. Aika and the others have goals that they must achieve on their own. Lilith cannot follow them in her current position, so she can only give them her blessings.

"Even if you are just behind his back, it is the responsibility of the senior to support the unreliable junior..."

Lilith just thought this in her heart. After the brief encounter, she regained her temper and hesitated to speak. She led several national magicians from the "Roxi" family behind her into the underground space where Aika and the others had fought hard.

"Eh……"

However, someone appeared there that Aika and the others had not mentioned before they said goodbye.

What appeared in front of Lilith and others was a middle-aged man wearing a crisp suit and black sunglasses. The left lens of the black sunglasses had obvious cracks, but the middle-aged man didn't seem to care. He had already carried Misty, who had passed out with her eyes tightly closed, on his shoulders like a life-size doll.

Previously, Aika had only said that there was still one remnant of the Nemesis Society here, and that he had been seriously injured by the magic equipment of his comrades. He might have lost hope of rescue. Lilith only learned the minimum information from the people who left here before. At least there should be no one here who can move, and Aika will hand over the cleared site to Lilith.

It was not surprising that an unexpected person broke into the scene, but after Lilith saw the middle-aged man turn his head when he heard multiple footsteps coming from behind, she even asked the most basic question about his identity. All forgotten.

"you are……"

The middle-aged man overlapped with a figure from her childhood memories. Although her figure has become taller and burlier, and she also wears black sunglasses that block her vision, her age seems to be nearly ten years older than when she parted forever, and her angular face is coated with a layer of vicissitudes, but Lilith firmly believes that she is in front of her. This person is the same person that I remember from my childhood.

"Dad..." No matter what, she firmly believed that she could never mistake the face that was only left in memory ten years ago, "You are dad, right?"

The middle-aged man carrying Komachi on his shoulders seemed to be interested in Lilith's shouts. His eyes under black sunglasses stared at the girl in a dignified uniform in front of him.

"You got the wrong person, a little girl from the Bisi Empire. I am in the same group as the little girl you want to arrest. You can call me No. 5."

The middle-aged man just answered her in a mocking tone and raised his free right hand. The same number was engraved on the back of a black fingerless glove.

"You lied!" Lilith seemed to have forgotten that there were subordinates who admired her behind her, and blurted out her inner doubts, "You are definitely the father, the national magician Addison!"

Lilith originally thought that her father had passed away forever decades ago, and when the Bis Empire held a funeral for him, she attended as a family member. Now that the person who should have been sleeping forever appears in front of her again after a few years, how can Lilith still remain calm?

"How to explain it..." The middle-aged man rubbed the back of his head as if he was really troubled. In fact, the "facts" he said next were so simple that he didn't need to worry about how to explain Lilith in order to understand, " I am not the Addison you know. To be more precise, I am Holmonx, recreated from Addison's genetic material. Have you heard of the term 'artificial human'?"

"Eh? Artificial... human?"

"I don't blame you if you haven't heard of it. This is the technology of the gods. Humans don't even have the technology to maintain this body. So now I am just a lackey of the Nemesis Society. Without their regular maintenance, I will lose power. Hall Monks, that's all. And, I feel the need to emphasize again, I don't know who you are, and I can't be the 'father' you're looking for."

Only the man who calls himself No. 5 knows whether the gaze under the black sunglasses is only looking at Lilith or all of them.

All the middle-aged man's emotions were hidden by the dark lenses except for the deep tones of his words.

"It's a lie..." The more Lilith listened, the more she couldn't accept it. She wriggled her lips in disbelief, "Why..."

Even though No. 5 denied it so completely, Lilith still did not give up her illusory hope.

She had never heard of the artificial human technology mentioned by No. 5, but that was not important. He admitted that he was indeed related to Addison. If the genetic material was the same, they could be considered to be the same person. But No. 5 insisted that he didn't know who he was. Lilith didn't know how to face this fact. It was unclear whether what No. 5 said was true or false.

"You really... don't know me? I'm Lilith!"

She still hoped that she would grow from an ignorant little girl to a graceful young girl, making her father whom she had not seen for decades unrecognizable. But the atmosphere among middle-aged men did not change at all because of Lilith's heartfelt talk.

The hope in Lilith's heart was dimmed a little by his unmoving attitude.

No. 5 stood proudly in front of so many national magicians, holding his chest high and showing no signs of wavering as he faced a formidable enemy.

"You are all national magicians under the 'Roxi' family of the Fu family, right? You brought out such a large lineup just to deal with the Nemesis Association. What, do you want to arrest me now?"

Lilith was still not sure whether the arrogant middle-aged man in front of her was the same person as her deceased father. But she couldn't give up on her mission to come here.

"If you give up resistance, you can be given a lighter sentence..."

No matter what the identity of No. 5 is, Lilith, as the commander of the "Roxi" family's magician force, has the responsibility to arrest the criminals who caused the trouble in accordance with the law. What's more, the middle-aged man in front of him openly admitted that he belonged to the criminal organization wanted nationwide.

"Hey, hey, Commander, why are you so unsure of your words? It seems that the 'Roxi' family is coming to an end."

No. 5 spoke provocative words that mocked Lilith's hesitation, and put down Komachi, who was carrying him on his shoulders, to let her lie at his feet.

Then he lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled the pungent smoke.

"Originally, I just wanted to recover the core of this plan, but I didn't expect to be entangled by a troublesome opponent..." No. 5 held the half-burned cigarette in the corner of his mouth, stretched out his hand and bent his index finger to make a provocative gesture, " Come on, let me see what you kids, who are responsible for the future of the Bis Empire, are really capable of!"

…………

The strength of No. 5 was beyond Lilith's expectations.

His magic is very rare. He can turn the smoke from cigarettes into explosions to attack, and his physical fitness is above the average level of the country's magicians. His strong body seems to be the product of being strengthened by some kind of magic. Far beyond the knowledge of Lilith, the top student at Frost Moon Academy.

Even the formally trained national magicians of the "Roxi" family were defeated one by one by No. 5 single-handedly.

"Are you surprised, little girl? Hallmonks still has quite an advantage in combat. After all, it is an artificial life form originally created with the goal of war machines. Compared with magic machines assembled from parts, it is at least no better. It breaks so easily.”

In the empty underground space, only Lilith and No. 5 were left, standing opposite each other.

Thanks to the vast area of ​​the underground space in the northwest district of the Bisi Empire, and the use of special materials for testing magic machinery as the building skeleton, even after the fierce melee just now, the underground space did not collapse.

Lilith cautiously raised her staff across her chest. In the previous fierce battles, she had always used her exclusive magic to support the "Roxi" family's national magician force from behind. Nature elves can easily change the local environment and construct magic, and can become excellent auxiliary magic in many situations.

However, now she is the only one who still has the ability to confront No. 5, which means that she will have to use her full strength to defeat the seemingly indestructible middle-aged man in front of her.

"So, what should we do now? You are the only one left here. You should also know that it is impossible for you to defeat me alone, right? So it is in line with the commander to see the situation clearly and give up the mission. This is a position that relies on your brain to fulfill."

"Sorry, I can not do it."

"Really..." No. 5 seemed to have expected that Lilith would give such an answer. He blew out smoke from the corner of his mouth holding a cigarette, and the smoke curled up, "Little girl, before I help you wake up, I would like to advise you. Just to put it bluntly, state magician is not a career worth pursuing as a dream. That’s how it looks from my point of view.”

"Eh?"

Lilith did not expect that the "advice" that No. 5 seemed to give out casually would actually be impartial and hit the target of the dream she had cherished since she was a child. It was also one of the reasons why she was standing here now. Is it really a coincidence?

"Although it is a recognized state agency, the previous tasks of the State Magician were not only to ensure the security of the Bis Empire like the commissioner of the Imperial City Defense Bureau, but also to participate in many inhumane experiments, such as human experiments, etc. from a hundred years ago until now. All are being carried out. The Bisi Empire has never given up on developing mimetic magic equipment that can replace magic equipment. Countless national magicians have been swallowed up by experiments in developing mimetic magic equipment in the past hundred years. The Nemesis Society is just repeating what they have already done. It’s just work to lay the foundation.”

"Human experiments..."

"Your father's name is Addison, right? That man must be one of the many victims of the mimicry magic suit development project. In the end, only the genetic material is left, hoping that one day he will get new technology and create the same thing. To use an excellent national magician as a substitute and then be officially labeled as having died in the line of duty is hardly a relief."

"These things...how do you know?"

Lilith still couldn't accept the fact that No. 5 revealed so many secrets about the empire that were either true or false. She couldn't believe that she lost her only family member forever for such a stupid reason.

"There are many people in the Bisi Empire who know about that kind of thing. Your Minister of Military Affairs, Foston, should know it very well. After all, he is a high-level person who has participated in this plan. However, he has always been too upright and knows I quit after the truth. If you want to know about those things in the past, go to Foston and he won't refuse to tell you."

No. 5 seemed to be Addison himself, talking about things in the past that Lilith didn't know.

"Then the place that best reflects the value of national magicians is the battlefield, such as the current war between the Bis Empire and the Tebiri Kingdom."

"But isn't that originally the responsibility of the National Magician? Since you have chosen the position of National Magician, it is natural to fulfill your obligations!"

Lilith already knew that after knowing so many truths, she who still spoke like this was the real anomaly. But she was simply driven by unwillingness and wanted to forcibly subvert No. 5's remarks to prove that there was no doubt that she was standing here at this moment.

"It is also your responsibility to inherit the family business, but you chose to embark on the path of a national magician despite the firm opposition of your family. Are you really sure that you, as the eldest daughter of the family, have different identities from your father-in-law? Going back to the previous topic, no matter how unreasonable the order is, the state magician must carry out the order from above. In contrast, the Nemesis Society does similar things, and it still feels a little meaningful. In order to Although it sounds unrealistic to act in the future and no one can predict what changes will happen in the future, it is still a righteous move to overthrow the already decadent regime."

Lilith was speechless by No. 5's sophistry that could not find any loopholes.

"Okay, I only know so much about your father. Your family's past has been investigated by the Nemesis Society in advance. The fledgling girl has already stood up as a national magician at such an age. The position of an official will make people interested no matter what, right?"

When the cigarette burned to the end, No. 5 threw the cigarette butt at his feet and stamped it out with his toes.

"Come on, little girl. Don't you want to carry out the justice you insist on and become a 'magician of justice'? Then do you have the ability to prove it to the enemies you should defeat?"

…………