Dark and Deep, at the Bottom of the Earth

H, hey!

Weren't you going to build up a backlog!?

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

When It drifted hazily awake, the first thing It perceived was the sound of dripping water.

The meaning of that sound was simple: the facility was aging.

This facility, which It had built to escape the eyes of the fools lording it over everyone up in the heavens, lay dark and deep, at the bottom of the earth.

In other words, if a crack were to form in the ceiling, there was a very real possibility that groundwater would seep in and flood the place.

It hurried to get up and see what was going on, but quickly realized that was impossible.

Because It no longer had any limbs left to move Itself with.

Now, It had become nothing more than a single lump of metal.

The emotion that filled Its heart when It realized this fact.

That was.

Joy.

Success.

The experiment had succeeded!

Though It no longer had limbs to leap up and raise a fist in triumph, within that cold metal body, Its soul danced wildly with joy.

Magecraft technology and the level of culture had declined, and the only hands left to do the work were Its own.

Insufficient personnel, insufficient materials, insufficient time.

And the watchful eyes of those fools, with pursuers closing in.

It had been a project forced through under wretched conditions.

In the end, it had truly been all or nothing, the real thing with no test run.

But It had won the bet.

It had finally succeeded in transplanting Its soul.

Into Its own greatest masterpiece...... the “Infinite Magic Extraction Device”!

Now, having grasped Its own state, It next began to check on Its surroundings.

Though It no longer had eyes, ears, or a mouth, It could clearly hear the dripping water and perceive the state of the old stone walls around It.

It was proof that the magic power sensing system was operating normally.

It couldn't help but smirk in Its heart.

This was the deepest part of the facility It had built.

The only things in the room were the pedestal on which It was enshrined and, lying in front of it, a skeleton that was beginning to weather away.

This skeleton was, in other words, Its own body from when It had been alive.

It had lived about four times as a human, and these bones had been Its fourth body.

Well, It had no interest in such a thing, so It immediately accessed the management system and began checking the maintenance status of the facility.

First, the drainage system was operating without issue.

Because of this, it was unlikely the facility would be flooded.

The cracks in the ceiling where the leaks were occurring also didn't seem to be a big deal.

For the time being, It felt relieved.

More importantly.

While tracing the recent logs, It discovered a grave fact.

A few months ago, one of the facility's Guardians had escaped to the outside.

And as if that had served as a catalyst, it seemed the existence of this facility had been exposed to the people in the surrounding area.

Intruders had been entering the facility quite frequently, though only as far as the middle levels.

It licked Its lips in Its mind.

This situation was by no means unwelcome to It.

Rather, It had scattered all sorts of bait so that things would turn out this way—so that greedy humans, and strong ones at that, would venture into the very depths of this facility.

Those efforts were now bearing fruit.

It was because of this state of affairs that It had awoken from Its long slumber now, at this very moment.

Humans exploring this facility to a certain depth.

That was the trigger for Its awakening.

Now, It only had to wait.

<Ihihi...... Ihihihihi!>

With Its soul soaring at the thought of the encounters that would surely come, It...... let out an eerie, booming laugh.

And so, Arc 15 begins!

I would be honored if you would continue to join me.