The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 186: Deep Under The Sea (11)

If I look outside through the window in front of me, I can see the horizon and the distant landscape intertwined.

Yes. I am in the sky right now.

Compared to the airship I boarded when I came from Vern City to the royal palace, this one is much smaller, but still, it’s a small airship, about the size of a small boat.

The vehicle that left in front of the accommodation went straight into the military base surrounding the royal palace, and we immediately boarded the airship from the dock.

Come to think of it, this world has a large number of flying machines.

That’s because there is a substance called flight stone. According to some memories, it’s a collection of microorganisms that float using magical power, or it's a substance that doesn’t normally react to gravity but has an attraction to magical energy, so it’s often found on planets where magic gathers.

There are many examples, but this world has different types of magic, which means that one type will float while the other sinks.

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To make it easy to understand, it’s like oil and water. The water sinks, and the oil floats. If an object floats in water and sinks in oil, it will gather at the boundary between the two.

It seems like those are the kinds of materials in use here. In short, airships in this world use materials that float up to a certain altitude and are then used as vehicles that move vertically.

There are layers of magic, and it means there are types of magic that don’t mix, but what do I know? I can’t use magic.

Looking at the memories of the Primordial Celestial Lord, I’m likely the exact opposite of magic, so even if I were to die and come back, using magic is impossible for me.

So I just ignore all that and look around.

The front is blocked by a transparent panel, and the pilot or captain is driving from the front. On both sides, there are wind-up mechanisms that assist with the steering.

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

There’s a large round window in the middle, showing the cockpit. The seats in the passenger cabin are arranged in pairs like a bus.

But the difference is that these chairs are single, cushy seats, each for one person.

Polaris is sitting and resting in her seat, looking quite familiar with the situation.

Looking at Kanna’s memories, it’s not unusual for a somewhat wealthy noble to own an airship, so it’s not strange for her to be used to it.

However, you don’t see airships in the capital.

Except for certain airships, if an airship approaches within a certain distance of the capital, it will be shot down after a single warning broadcast.

That’s why when Kanna went home, she had to leave the capital and head towards the dock area to board an airship.

By the way, there are flying monsters and sky pirates in this world.

That’s why the airship we’re on has defensive equipment attached to it.

Zing!

When I look outside, sometimes I see electric charges fired at creatures approaching the airship.

Electricity in the air is dangerous, yes.

That said, considering where Victoria is right now...

Ah.

I’ve definitely traveled farther south than Victoria. The air route is definitely much faster than traveling by ground.

But I can’t let that show, so I just stay quietly seated.

Polaris, perhaps sensing my awkwardness, doesn’t talk to me, so only the faint sounds of the wind-up mechanism are heard.

Unlike me, who has countless movie channels at all times, this must be a somewhat boring trip for Polaris.

When someone speaks to her, she answers earnestly, but she won’t start a conversation on her own unless there’s something significant to talk about, so this will likely be a quiet trip.

Yes.

Unless something happens.

And it did, just as we were nearing Vern City.

“Kraaaaak!”

Up ahead.

Without any warning, the window showing a little bit of the cockpit turned red with a scream. It was clearly more blood than anyone could survive.

The only person in front was the pilot.

There hadn’t been any appearance of monsters or public intruders right before this. That would have been considered a locked-room murder.

But this world isn’t one where only humans can kill humans.

Crack!

Even though there was a hand that could open the door, a wind-up mechanism, dripping with blood and showing clear hostility, stepped out from the cockpit.

Unlike what I had learned, the visual display wasn’t painted red or anything, but anyone could tell it was the machine that killed the person.

Crash!

As it stepped out, a chair was thrown into its face and exploded.

The person who threw the chair was none other than Polaris.

I thought most people around here were kind, but in a dangerous situation like this, many can remain unfazed and handle it well. No, it’s not that they’re unfazed. Their faces were full of confusion and fear, and they were clearly shocked.

But they were somehow managing to hold it together.

I lowered my gaze slightly and looked below. The chair was firmly screwed into the ground. In other words, this chair was ripped off the floor by hand.

Kiiiiiing

Once again, with a sound like steel tearing, the chair caught in Polaris’s hand was ripped off the floor. Ah. This chair structure was metal.

Polaris seemed to be about to say something, but a squeaky sound came out, and after clearing her throat a few times, she straightened her back and pretended as if nothing was wrong.

“Vel, don’t go to the door. What is it, an assassination?”

“Doesn’t it feel more like a machine revolt?”

Clunk.

A sound came from behind, and when I turned around, I saw a doll-shaped wind-up machine, half-covered in blood, walking toward us, with what seemed to be the remnants of its internal organs stuck into a broken kettle.

Come to think of it, there were a few crew members when we boarded earlier. It seems they’re the ones who made the mess.

“Who’s controlling the wind-up machine?”

“It’s unlikely it has a personality, right?”

“A machine? That’s impossible. It has some level of judgment, but it’s still bug-like. If it was the latest model, maybe, but the one in front of us looks pretty old. Someone must have given it orders.”

Even including faded memories, this level of intelligence, hmm. No, it’s surprising how much there is. In fact, the world in the faded memories is so advanced that it’s strange there are no such AI machines.

Tap, tap.

At that moment, the bloodied, broken kettle-wielding wind-up machine charged at Polaris.

Crash!

But Polaris, holding the chair, swung it sideways.

Thud!

The machine hit the wall and got stuck. It seemed to have some durability because it clattered as it tried to free itself from the dented steel. But it seemed it didn’t have enough power to get out, and it just struggled.

“How many are there inside?”

“I don’t know.”

“Not helpful.”

Polaris cautiously walked toward the back. But before reaching the back door of the cabin, she stopped.

Three blood-soaked wind-up machines had come out from the back door. Behind them was the body of a person with most of their skin peeled off.

I hurriedly turned my gaze to Polaris. The sight seemed horrific to the girl, and I was worried, but Polaris coldly stared at the wind-up machines.

The machines clanked and walked toward Polaris. Then, suddenly, the wind-up started turning {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} violently, and the machines charged toward her.

Crash!

But Polaris ducked, twisting her body, and kicked the machine’s head as it attacked.

Crack!

The head was ripped off from the torso.

But the last third one grabbed Polaris’s torso while she was mid-air.

Is this the harvest?

Crash!

Wow.

When the wind-up machine grabbed her torso, Polaris’s leg, which had been spinning in mid-air, turned around with the momentum and wrapped around the wind-up machine’s head and shoulders. Then, she slammed it into the ground.

The reaction was so strong that Polaris was thrown into the air, but it seemed like it was part of her plan as she grabbed the ceiling and landed lightly on the floor, assuming a martial arts stance.

Then, even though the machine’s head was slammed to the ground, it began to stagger, and Polaris jumped up and smashed it back down.

Hick.

This time, instead of the head hitting the ground, the skeletal structure, which had been functioning as the head, shattered into pieces, and wind-up fragments scattered everywhere.

The size was similar to Rebecca, but is this the kind of impact a bear would make with its front paws?

Actually, now that I think about it, Rebecca in her final stages could have done something like this.

After I left, with no light or warmth, it seemed that Rebecca, who started moving again, was much stronger when I saw her again after a long time.

Is it because of the magic, that simple physical strength gets enhanced?

Thinking of that amazing phenomenon, I watch Polaris walking toward the back door of the cabin. I follow her and go toward the back as well.

“Don’t come!”

When I grabbed the door, I heard a threatening voice from inside. It wasn’t a tone telling me not to come because it was dangerous, but one that said there’s something gruesome inside that can’t be shown.

But I still went in.

Polaris’s back was visible, and the intense smell of blood pierced my nose.

Polaris’s fist, visible from behind, had turned completely white.

The hallway was littered with broken bodies. But judging by the scattered pieces, they looked like one person...

Ah. No, it’s not.

Under a sign labeled “Crew Quarters,” a hand was sticking out from the gap in the door. Polaris, seeing that, walked over and stopped by it.

I walked toward that door as well. On my way there, I casually stepped on the scattered corpse and absorbed the faint warmth that was still left.

The memory was shattered in parts, but it came to me.

Checking the memory, I saw something about an emergency flight. It was a sad message about being pulled here urgently. This wasn’t the case, though. The memory right before death...

Ah, I found it.

It was of two children being taken aboard, talking about why they were heading to Vern City, when the wind-up machines slowly surrounded them and killed them before they had a chance to react.

They didn’t suspect anything as the machines surrounded them, which made it even more deadly.

Polaris stepped back from the door, and as her face slowly became visible, it looked pale.

“Vel.”

“We should check what happened.”

Hearing my footsteps, Polaris called my name, telling me not to come, but I believed I could find the reason inside, so I went in, leaving Polaris behind.

There are two more.

While pretending to search through the bodies, I absorbed the remaining warmth. The warmth of bodies that had just died still held some of the essence of life.

It was faint, and the memories that came with it were broken, but...

“They all died in an ambush.”

“All three?”

“The corridor too.”

Polaris nodded grimly. Then, suddenly, there was a loud thud, and the ship shook, causing the momentum to head upward.

“Are we falling?”

“Looks like it.”

At my words, Polaris’s face turned pale. But it’s not that the levitation was completely lost; it’s more like we’re just descending now. If it were true zero gravity, we would be floating, but we’re just going down. That means someone’s controlling it.

Now that I think about it, there were wind-up machines on both sides of the pilot’s seat, but only one came out.

I headed toward the cockpit.

“Where are you going?”

“The cockpit.”

Polaris, following me, wondered if that was a possibility.

My goal was to get to the pilot’s warmth before it cooled, but there was no reason to explain it in detail, so I pretended to head forward, trying to solve the situation.