LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 4 - The Day Rust Rain Fell... 3
Chapter 4: The Day Rust Rain Fell… 3
The Scrap Orc couldn’t hold back his laughter at the sight of the human suddenly collapsing.
He had thought the human might be strong, as he had been ignoring him, and it had made him nervous. But now, the human collapsed on his own and lay motionless.
He didn’t know what this was supposed to mean, but it was pathetic and amusing.
‘It’s human meat after so long!’
Naturally, as a living being, the Scrap Orc needed to eat, and for monsters, humans were the most delicious.
Monsters’ hostility and hatred toward humans were separate from the fact that humans were considered the ultimate delicacy.
There were rumors in cities and within the Ark that monsters, by consuming humans, absorbed not only their mana but also their emotions and pain, finding it particularly flavorful. However, this was not definitively proven.
Still, the Scrap Orc knew that approaching a city full of humans would activate the monitoring systems of the barrier walls, unleashing all kinds of magic and armor-piercing bullets upon him.
The Scrap Orc wasn’t strong enough to break through the barrier walls, so he had chosen to settle in the forest near the garbage dumps where the city’s waste accumulated.
From the Scrap Orc’s perspective, this was much better for survival. However, the downside was that he rarely had the chance to eat that delicious human meat.
Occasionally, there were humans wandering outside the city, but they were usually powerful Overseers or Hunters.
Finding a powerless vagrant expelled from the city was a great stroke of luck, but such fortune was rare, as luck is never frequent.
In the end, the Scrap Orc had to settle for feeding on beasts and wandering goblins, significantly lowering his quality of life.
It was laughable for a Scrap Orc to consider “quality of life,” but even monsters had their own sense of livelihood and satisfaction.
In that sense, Alice, who had suddenly collapsed without resistance, was like a feast that had fallen straight from the heavens for the Scrap Orc.
“Grrruk!”
At the guttural growl of the orc, the small goblins clinging to his body leapt to the ground.
The order was to bring back the weak human who had collapsed on her own.
For goblins, less than a meter tall, to bring back a human, they would need to tear the body into smaller pieces.
“Kihihi—”
“Kii, kehk!”
The Scrap Goblins wielded rusted spanners, bent screwdrivers, and worn-out saws.
These low-grade monsters could be hunted even by civilians armed with clubs, but they lived parasitically under the Scrap Orc, spending their days disassembling and reassembling various pieces of scrap metal as if they were toys.
Tearing apart and disassembling a defenseless human body wouldn’t pose a problem for them.
However, fortune doesn’t simply drop from the heavens so easily.
In this era, what often fell from the sky was not fortune but misfortune or blind calamity.
【Combat Mode, Installed】
Bad luck came far more frequently than good luck.
【Main Personality – Temporarily Deactivated】
【Deactivating the main personality due to activation of the emergency system.】
The small murmurs escaping from Alice’s mouth couldn’t be understood by the goblins or the orc.
But it didn’t matter.
Whether they understood or not, the fate of those who had approached so closely was already sealed.
-Slash!-
“Kkeek!?”
“Guhhck!”
A tendril pierced through the body of a goblin.
As her spinal parts opened, razor-sharp tendrils coated with an ominous energy shot out in all directions, instantly killing the seven Scrap Goblins that had been approaching without any resistance.
【Auxiliary Personality – Activated】
With those words, Alice stood up.
More precisely, her body remained limp like a severed puppet, showing no sign of moving on its own.
What was lifting and supporting her body were thin mechanical tendrils resembling spider legs, extending from her spinal parts.
The mechanical tendrils hoisted Alice up, supporting her body as she stood upright, touching the ground.
“Graaaagh!”
Unlike the goblins, however, the Scrap Orc remained unharmed.
Alice’s tendrils had targeted not only the goblins but also the Scrap Orc’s head. Yet, despite his body being layered with scrap metal, he had evaded the attack with surprising agility.
“Grrroaaaah—!”
The Scrap Orc wasn’t angry because his goblins, whom he considered his subordinates, had been killed.
He was enraged because attacking the goblins, who were his possessions, meant that the human was resisting him.
-Clack! Click!-
“Kill… human!”
With a clumsy pronunciation, the Scrap Orc growled, and the machinery and scrap attached to his body creaked as his “combat mode” activated.
The prosthetic arm, shaped like a metal gauntlet, twisted and reassembled itself into a circular chainsaw.
The mechanisms in his arm began emitting high-temperature smoke as artificial muscles activated, and a creaking sound echoed from his limbs as if bullets were being loaded.
【Target Confirmed】
Alice watched the transformation without expression, the creaking sounds of her tendrils adjusting in response.
【Icicle Reverse】
【Kalia’s Flame】
【Cursed Roar】
【Contagion of Hatred】
【Unavailable】
【Unavailable】
【All forms of magical techniques are unavailable. Reason: Internal energy depletion, battery reserve insufficient.】
While it was still possible to create magical formulas and magic circles, the battery and mana, which were the driving forces of her body’s operation, were nearly depleted.
Without the emergency system, this elegant doll would have been torn apart and defiled by the goblins.
【Confirmed inability to use magical and cursed techniques.】
【Verifying integrity of personality fragments. Requesting expanded authority for auxiliary personality [Theresa].】
However, Auxiliary AI Theresa would not allow such a scenario to unfold.
【Acknowledged… Authorization granted.】
At that moment, Alice’s head tilted upward with a mechanical creak.
Her large glassy pupils gleamed inhumanly.
【Under the judgment of Auxiliary AI Theresa, switching to alternative countermeasures.】
【Installing new behavioral protocol…】
【Installation completion expected in 30 seconds.】
“Graaaaah!”
【30…29…】
With the sound of a cannon firing from the Scrap Orc’s legs, his massive body charged toward Alice with incredible speed.
The Scrap Orc had detonated explosives in his legs to perform a sudden acceleration that didn’t match his massive frame.
-Thud! Thud!-
The 50-meter distance closed in less than a second.
A collision with his massive body alone would have shattered Alice’s fragile frame.
【28】
However, Alice’s small body did not crumble.
As if predicting the Scrap Orc’s attack path, Alice evaded it with the bare minimum of movement.
The Scrap Orc, furious that his attack had missed, detonated the explosives in his arms to alter his direction mid-charge and aimed at Alice again.
This time, he swung a massive circular chainsaw attached to one of his hands in a wide arc.
“Kahaha! This time, I’ll hit you, human!!”
Alice seemed unprepared for the sudden and barbaric change in trajectory caused by the explosives, and the chainsaw grazed her arm.
-Clang!-
Yet, Alice’s body repelled the chainsaw with a burst of yellow sparks, as if it were made of something far stronger than ordinary metal. In that instant, the Scrap Orc lost his balance momentarily.
“Ugh!?”
【25…24…23…】
One of the thin mechanical tendrils supporting Alice stabbed into the Scrap Orc’s neck.
The remaining tendrils lifted Alice into the air and latched her onto the Scrap Orc’s back as he charged forward.
“Graaaaagh! Die! Human! Get off me, human!”
【21…20…19…】
Despite having a tendril lodged in his neck, the Scrap Orc twisted his body violently, letting out guttural screams to attack the figure clinging to his back.
A single thin tendril wasn’t enough to take down the resilient Scrap Orc.
Indeed, the Scrap Orc was a variant built on the orc’s infamous toughness and vitality.
The Scrap Orc’s body could endure endless cycles of implanting scrap metal, modifications, and repairs without suffering any side effects.
Even with a tendril as thick as an adult man’s finger embedded in his neck, he wouldn’t die.
【2…1…0… Installation Complete】
However, Alice—or more precisely, Auxiliary Personality Theresa—was now ready to kill the Orc.
-Zing!-
【New behavioral protocol activated as of this moment.】
The yellow hue of her eyes turned crimson.
The tendrils supporting Alice like spider legs sprouted blades.
But it wasn’t just blades.
There were mechanical pincers resembling surgical tools, four-pronged knives, and even circular saws emitting a grating metallic whine.
The circular saw was particularly similar to the one the Scrap Orc had swung just moments earlier.
-Ziiing…!-
As numerous mechanical tendrils attached to Alice let out a piercing metallic screech, the Scrap Orc’s rage grew even more intense.
“Let go, let…!”
【Operational Objective: Livestock slaughter.】
-Squish!-
“Gwaaaargh!?”
One tendril plunged into the Scrap Orc’s spine.
The Orc was taken aback.
A pesky human?
Even if a tiny, toy-like creature climbed on his back, it wouldn’t be a problem.
He thought she would fall off on her own if he ran wildly.
After all, no matter how much this small tendril stabbed him, it couldn’t inflict fatal damage—or so he believed.
Besides, it didn’t even hurt that much.
The Orc species inherently had a dull sense of pain.
The thick fat and muscle layers beneath their skin were optimized to protect vital organs.
Since it neither hurt nor seemed lethal, the Scrap Orc felt only anger, not a sense of danger, when Alice climbed onto his back.
But then…
-ZIIIIIIING!!!-
“Uggghhhhaaaah!”
The surgical scalpels and circular saws began to move relentlessly.
-Squelch!-
“Ugh, ack!”
-Squelch! Squelch!-
“Gah…! Ugh!”
The Scrap Orc’s neck, spine, and waist were sliced and severed with no resistance.
Though the Orc had never felt pain in his life, he seemed to grasp the severity of the situation, as he began thrashing wildly through the forest in an attempt to shake Alice off.
“Graaaah! Get… off me, human!!!”
【Identifying slaughter obstruction. Administering anesthesia.】
-Poke!-
“…!?”
At that moment, a tendril equipped with surgical pincers stabbed a specific part of the Scrap Orc’s spine.
Even in the midst of his frantic thrashing, it accurately targeted the point that paralyzed his entire body.
The Scrap Orc froze in an awkward posture, completely immobilized.
However, the paralysis affected only his motor functions, leaving his sense of pain entirely intact.
【Confirmed paralysis of the target.】
【Resuming slaughter.】
“……!”
The Scrap Orc couldn’t fully comprehend his situation, but his trembling eyes indicated he instinctively knew it was dire.
-ZIIIIIING!!!-
“…!!!”
Despite the horrific pain, the forest remained eerily silent, with no sound of his screams.
As he stopped moving, the sensation of pain intensified even further.
-Ziiiiiing!!-
The circular saw sliced through the flesh at his waist, where his spine was located, without hesitation.
Tendrils transformed into surgical tools delved into his interior.
Pincers rearranged his spinal bones, while knives severed his flesh and fat layers.
At first, the pain was mild, like a sharp sting.
But it quickly escalated, growing more and more unbearable.
It seemed deliberate—one of the tendrils touched a specific part of his spine, amplifying his sensation of pain with each passing moment.
“…..!!!!!”
The Orc silently screamed in agony.
Meanwhile, Alice—or rather, Auxiliary Personality Theresa, who was controlling her—rolled her now-crimson eyes to survey her surroundings.
【Emergency system reserves critically low.】
【Supplementation required.】
【Supplementation confirmed.】
Two new tendrils sprouted and grabbed nearby goblins that had collapsed.
Although their vital points were precisely targeted to immobilize them, the goblins were not yet dead.
They didn’t need to die.
【Commencing supplementation.】
-ZIIIIIING!!-
“Guh, gaaahhh! Gaaaack!!!”
The tendrils, once again equipped with surgical tools, began digging into the goblins’ bodies.
The goal wasn’t to kill them.
It appeared to be to torture and inflict pain.
【Confirmed trace internal recharge from the slaughter process.】
The tendrils repeatedly slashed and tore at the goblins’ flesh, grazing their vital organs and critical points without fully severing them.
The goblins’ screams, drenched in agony, filled the air.
The lingering agony and the emotions of tortured life forms became mana in the ambient atmosphere, carrying their entropy and willpower.
The efficiency of harvesting mana from goblins’ suffering was abysmally low, but it was better than nothing.
【Emergency system reserve recharge confirmed.】
Theresa, now aware that even the goblins’ suffering contributed marginally to recharging the emergency system, shifted her crimson gaze again.
This time, her eyes settled on the Scrap Orc, whose slaughter had been temporarily paused.
【Considering the emergency situation, a new battery recharge method is adopted.】
-ZIIIIIIING!-
For some reason, more mechanical tendrils than before began to move toward the Orc.
【Please endure. Organic matter. Do your best to survive for as long as possible.】
“…!”
The Scrap Orc, despite his limited intelligence, understood the grimness of his fate as he saw the approaching tendrils, equipped with horrific tools, and Alice’s crimson, flickering glass eyes.