Harbingers of Change

Chapter 26

So much had changed during the past few weeks, the shortest weeks he ever remembered. Ever since he and his two otherworlder friends had been defeated in their fight - he'd say it wasn't even a fight, it was a one-sided beatdown - none of them were the same. Both internally and externally. The group hadn't changed this much since they were first enslaved by the old wizard Razen.

Kyoya was sitting upward in his bed, and had been for the past few hours of the night as he reflected. The cold air breezed through their tent, helping him stay awake as he sat there, head empty as he pseudo-meditated. He couldn't sleep, his thoughts racing as he sipped on a cold canteen of water.

Kirara was, of course, hogging all the blankets they had agreed to share, the chilled wind affecting her far greater due to her weaker resistances against the cold compared to him. He couldn't bring himself to wake her up this late during the night just to take some of it back, as everyone was exhausted from the training they regularly performed.

'Sometimes, you're such a selfish bitch, but you're who you are and I'm fine with that.' He gently stroked her hair, Kirara letting out a whisper of a mumble and breaking into a smile. But he couldn't help it. For the first time in his life, he cared more about someone else than himself.

Razen had verbally railed upon them, furious for besmirching his good name in front of the most influential warrior in the Western Nations and almost getting his most valuable offensive property - them - killed. Withholding healing for days, he reduced their privileges by amounts that even Kyoya hadn't seen since Kirara had slain the thirty mages who summoned her, or since Shogo had murdered a baron's son during a 'spar.' He left them in agonizing pain for hours, as their otherworldly constitution enabled them to take multiple normally fatal wounds and sustain themselves for extended durations of time, to further imprint his rage upon the group.

While his own innards were turned into practical mush, he handled the pain decently well due to having greater resistances from their spars. He could also control his own thoughts to a certain degree with Thought Acceleration, allowing him greater durations of rare respite. Kirara, on the other hand, had shattered ribs and pierced her lungs, bleeding out from the worst internal organs possible. After the fight, she fell into a panic attack when Razen refused to heal her, resulting in every maid, butler, and soldier within half the mansion they lived in having to be evacuated for the rest of the day in fear of turning into either homicidal maniacs out for Razen's head or committing suicide on the spot from the mental pain they felt.

Razen called it a well-deserved "lesson" for the trio, and as for Shogo, something inside him broke that day. Even before recovering, he lashed out at anyone who wasn't Hinata and oftentimes went into spirals as his bloodlust aura for Hinata went out of control. After recovery, he lost any sense of reason that wasn't directly related to killing her and believed every person who wasn't him to be a threat from Hinata, forcing Razen to intervene and end his rampage after dozens of soldiers and civilians of the medical wing had been slain. He ended up having to be mentally altered by Kirara until Razen could somewhat fix him, but his hatred for Hinata still remained.

The two of them, on the other hand, gained the much-needed humility and understanding of Hinata's generosity. They had been willfully ignorant of how dangerous this world was and had their heads brutally pulled out of the dunes of wealth and pride. She had shown them the pain of losing a fight and compassion towards others. It was she who scolded Razen for not properly training him and others, even when they were extremely arrogant.

In that moment of growth, he became a pillar of stability and calm for Kirara to rely upon afterwards. He carefully held her as he never had before, insisted Razen give her a healing potion prematurely, and let her cry herself to sleep in his embrace for many nights.

One could write it off as him doing all that just to get close to another girl during their time of weakness, but he already had his entertainers and servants. Razen, for all his faults, tried to keep them happy and rested for the most part, and thus the servant girls assigned to him were more willing to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. But it was nothing more than empty pleasure compared to her.

Their first time sleeping together as mature adults, not tantrum-throwing children, was truly different. While she wasn't as skilled in bed compared to the glorified prostitutes he used for quick relief, the connection they shared made the night truly special. Before, she had told him of the boyfriend she held back in Japan and her devoted loyalty to him even in this world, even refusing to take a local lover in hopes of one day being reunited.

…but nothing lasts forever.

As they grew closer over the days, she wrote a symbolic letter to her former boyfriend and burned it over the fire, setting him and her desires for him free. Kirara wasn't stupid, she knew he most likely had moved on and found a new girl after the many months she had disappeared, but the illusion of him waiting kept her desperate hopes up to survive in this world.

Now they had each other and life was going better. Sure, now he was terrified of going to war in fear of dying or losing her, but that fear kept them alive. It had even lit a fire under their metaphorical seats, driving the two to improve as they spared against soldiers, trained in the magical arts, and negotiated with Razen for each other. Kirara had even started a region for melee training in the spear, shield, and dagger in case anybody got close to either of them as Hinata did, and he had picked up some tricks for utilizing long-range sharp projectiles in case she was under attack and he was too far away.

Completely giving up on sleep, Kyoya slowly crawled out of bed and into a shirt and pants since he didn't want to awaken Kirara. As he reached for his boots, Kirara asked sleepily. "Can't sleep again?"

Evidently, he hadn't slithered out slowly enough.

"You stole the blanket," he chuckled in response, pausing.

"Don't be a baby. Come, I'll warm you up." She patted the empty spot beside her, even sliding over an entire blanket.

"Tempting offer," Kyoya declared. He stopped himself from reaching for the boot and glanced over at his girlfriend, who lifted the blanket to reveal her enticing figure.

The idea of having some midnight fun with her was hard to pass aside, yet his inner thoughts managed to find their way onto his face.

Noticing Kyoya's serious expression, Kirara sat up and inquired, "What's on your mind?"

"We should try to flee when the army starts to march. If Razen can't find us, he can't give us orders since we have to be within a certain range. I'm confident I can hunt animals and scavenge plants until we return to proper civilization, and with your mental magic we wouldn't have to fear being reported to him by civilians."

"The old bastard likely has a spell for that. I don't want to go fight either."

"If I could manage a surprise attack…or maybe we can ask for help from templars. You heard what they said a few days ago. It was illegal to summon us, meaning they'll side with us if push came to shove."

Kirara pulled him from his chair and leaned in closer, hugging Kyoya from behind and planting a light kiss on his neck. "I would like for us two to run away. As long as we're together…"

She didn't finish the sentence, she didn't need to. It was nice to dream, but that didn't change the harsh reality. They had this conversation many times in the past, usually whenever Razen was deep asleep and the camp was quiet.

"Let's go for a walk. A breath of fresh air and a good girl by your side will help you fall asleep," she suggested, snuggling in closer.

Kyoya always blamed his insomnia on her stealing the blankets, but in truth, he knew better; he felt helpless deep inside. Ever since they were together, he had been the one to calm her worries and to be the strong shoulder she could lean against, but that was only on the outside. He was just as scared as she was about their future, the pointless war against the monsters, and what Razen really planned for them. Both knew it, and it weighed heavily upon them.

Many rumors and half-truths were flying among the crusaders and servants that the old man had summoned otherworlders many, many times in the past, and most didn't live the long and fulfilling lives they all wished for. Some had even been reported dead from overwork or experiments, an irony that he failed to find humorous. In hindsight, if he hadn't become so arrogant so fast after summoning, and instead focused on befriending locals, he would've learned a lot more about the world he was in and perhaps even a few allies besides Kirara.

"I'm not carrying you back if you get tired," Kyoya replied cheerfully.

"You can't say no when I ask nicely." She playfully bit his ear and rolled back to her side, picking up her clothes.

"Oh, you'll have to be extra nice this time."

"Mmm, I might. It's fun to make the men in surrounding tents envious of you," Kirara giggled mischievously, sliding on a loose shirt.

"You're plain evil sometimes, the other dudes ogle you like there's no tomorrow."

"Like I'm the only one. I know you enjoy their glares."

"I'm a lucky, taken man for sure," he admitted, grabbing her extended hand and being lifted out the front flaps.

Moments later, both walked in complete silence among the dozens of tents, illuminated by pairs of pole-hung paper lanterns. The night was pleasantly silent, with a clear star-filled sky over their heads blessing them with a view they never could have gotten back on Earth.

The camp was roughly the size of a small city, with over one hundred and fifty thousand combatants present. Only such an army could hope to invade the dreaded Storm Dragon's domain and possibly emerge victorious if the templars were to be believed. And that wasn't even counting their supply lines this far out from the nearest cities, bringing the numbers to over two hundred thousand people.

The usual destination for their rather increasingly frequent night strolls through camp was a large hill near the edge of their segment of the city, overlooking most of the city and a good portion of the nearby forests. It even had just enough shade near the end that it could protect from rain while having a picnic, something the pair had enjoyed several times.

Usually, there was nobody around the spot, but today they found a lone figure sitting on their usual stone, and by the lack of other shadows, speaking to herself. The iconic rapier and feared mystical sword shone in the moonlight, the silhouette as still as a mouse.

"Miss Hinata?" Kyoya whispered quietly, his hand tightly clenching Kirara's.

"Shadows. They followed you till you came close enough. They are always watching. They are here, always here," Hinata stated, stroking the blade everyone had heard about in her lap.

"What shadows?" Kirara asked the follow-up question, squeezing Kyoya's hand harder. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"Spies. Shadows. The damned dragon is scared. Looking for a time to strike. I won't let him. They all will die. Watch your backs. Shadows!" Hinata's voice was as sharp as fractured ice, sending chills down their spines.

Kirara took a step back, observing Hinata from behind Kyoya's back. There was something off but familiar about the revered commander of the invasion army, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"What do you mean, Miss Hinata?" Kyoya inquired cautiously, taking a step back to offer more support for his beloved.

Hinata glanced up from the sword, facing them, her face stone cold. "He's marking people with power. He's marking people with influence. He has already marked most. You, her, that arrogant friend of yours, the saints, all of them. Supply lines marked a lot. He thinks I will falter. He thinks I will slow down. He thinks I will destroy myself. No. The usurper will pay. I will kill all of them."

Her pale face was twisted in a seemingly permanent snarl and her eyes were bloodshot, madness obvious behind the sharp stare peering into their souls. Her body was tense, tenser than they had ever observed, and her swords were giving off a brighter shine. They even felt a bit of aura, enough to weaken their legs and hold them still.

"I will kill them all. The usurper will pay. Watch your backs, they are coming for you. All of you. The shadows are!"

"Thank you for the warning, Miss Hinata." Kyoto bowed and attempted to leave, dragging Kirara who complied with him. But then they stopped dead in their tracks.

A pair of brief lights flashed by them, whistling as the air overcharged with magic. Suddenly, two trees were destroyed, two they were about to walk past, one with a devastating hole easily tens of centimeters wide and the other impaled with her infamous rapier, the sword almost completely through the tree.

"They try! Watch your backs, they are not off for long! I will kill them all!"

Hinata's scream rang behind them as they sprinted, fear drenching their souls as they ran for their lives. Their hopeful walk out had turned into something far more terrifying, something they hadn't even seen when brutally crushed by the woman weeks ago.

Only when Hinata disappeared from their view, swallowed by the darkness, and they neared their tent did he flip around and walk normally.

"She seemed off. Miss Hinata wasn't like that a week ago," Kirara spoke, her tone quite certain.

"Maybe the stress is getting to her. She knows she can't protect everyone. We have to watch our backs. She was clearly watching the camp for something."

"No, there's something more. My second cousin was like that, always mumbling things and drawing strange pictures. One day, she attacked the mall guard out of the blue and was sent to the loony bin. I think Miss Hinata is losing her mind. We should stay away from her." Kirara shook her head. "We'll run once the army marches."

"Definitely. With any luck, Razen might get killed before he notices." He agreed, opening their tent flaps.

The two lovers returned to their bed for some momentary rest before planning their next steps, unaware of the two shadow creatures newly merging with their shadows.

X

The research department was absorbing stockpiled resources like a sponge, and Pero just happily signed them off without a care in the world. He was a believer in "buy low, sell high," and that meant he'd gladly fund all their costs at the moment so he could utilize their ever-more powerful creations later.

Albedo was a bit more stingy with resources generated by Nazarick, but her hands were tied due to Pandora being in charge of the treasury that housed anything of value the moment Ramiris expanded it. It was an oversight she was hurrying to fix, but the fairy was nowhere to be found.

In a sense, it was akin to giving a small kid the keys to a candy shop and a promise of it all being free, and the greater doppelganger was astonishingly quick to exploit the fact.

Momonga was made aware of the ongoing situation rather quickly thanks to Pandora sending excited messages about being able to create far more deadly and powerful machinations, but at first didn't want to deal with his son. Pandora's personality and mannerisms were a grim reminder of his chuuni past, and if there was anything he sucked at, it was self-reflection.

"He took six hundred fifty-seven tons of magisteel! Veldora just signed off everything he and the eighth floor have made for the research." Albedo barged into his room, agitated and surprising the maid. "The usage of those resources was already signed off! Now I have to delay or stop seventeen different projects!"

"I guess we should take a gander at what he's up to now." Momonga handed his paperwork to his ever-present homunculus maid by his side, knowing she would categorize and file them appropriately while he was away, and stood up from his desk to calm down the stressed-out consort.

Albedo was stressed, visibly so, which was unusual for the succubus who took pride in her professionalism as the Overseer of Nazarick. Her folded wings jittering all over the place and periodically crushing mithril balls like they were sugar, it was clearly a matter of time before she attempted to murder both Veldora and Pandora.

"I swear if they're wasting resources for no good reason-"

"I'm sure they know what they're doing," Momonga said, sounding as convincing as ever. "But I will drill into Veldora to consult with you before taking resources. I'll also have Ramiris relocate the resource distribution to within your office space to prevent future situations like this."

He gave his head consort a light stroke on her shoulder, knowing it would work wonders. Albedo leaned into his touch, her expression softening. "That would be for the best. Thank you, my love."

'Having to manage Nazarick and a good portion of Tempest's government is already quite a bit of work, and the upcoming war has only compounded her stress. I know! I'll take her somewhere nice today, she'll enjoy the break and time with me. I'm sure Shion and Shalltear will understand if I promise each a day for them as well, and it should also motivate them to work harder as well.'

"Let's go take a look at the science department. And after that, we could go to the theater, just the two of us."

"Oh, I would love to. They're showing 'The Birth of the Guild' today. We've been so busy that I haven't seen it yet. I was so jealous that Shalltear had the chance to see the play with her father." Albedo's tone changed completely, betraying excitement. There was also some underlying jealousy, thus he vowed to take some time out of his daily duties to investigate the situation with the others.

The theater had seen an explosion in popularity ever since cash had started flowing in staggering amounts, not only among the citizens of Tempest but also visitors. Amateur troupes were multiplying like mushrooms after the rain thanks to the influx of coin and ambition of businessmen, and even high-production professional plays were the go-to entertainment for anyone who could afford it. Several theaters across the nation had been constructed within the past few months, and the increase in overall happiness within the workforce was delightful to learn about. The entertainment industry was booming as a whole, as more citizens became interested in non-work material.

The absolute goldmine fueling this massive uptick of cultural entertainment that was Nazarick's library gave so much material to work with - due to the many guildmates stashing their pirated copies of movies, paid files of light novels, and self-produced fanfictions - that if all the material was converted, a person could watch a play every day for years on end. Obviously, Pero capitalized on this cultural development in any way he could, developing and investing in over a dozen theatrical companies. He was also the one who dumped massive amounts of money into the construction and cloth industries to keep prices low and entertainment flowing like water, aiming to - and quickly achieving - his goal of making Tempest's capital known as the "Entertainment Capital of the World."

The most obvious move was that the recently-created Free Theater Association spiking in popularity, which licensed out dozens of plays and even gave and protected copyright to the budding authors of the nation. He and Buku both had a few plays written between them, mostly depicting events from their gaming days.

Their co-authored 'The Birth of the Guild' instantly became the most sought-after play by a wide margin compared to no.2, raking in thousands of gold coins within the first week of release. And how couldn't it? The story of how Momonga and his friends created the guild and conquered the dungeon that became the fabled Nazarick, who ruled over them all, was written by the Lords themselves. It contained their rise to power, their benevolence and malevolence, it held it all!

Since Pero's companies held the monopoly over the licenses and the theaters, its tickets were sold out a year in advance and continued to be reserved, even with a potentially bloody war looming over the horizon. Pero could be accused of being a playboy, but he had great foresight when it came to economics.

Momonga himself was not too thrilled to see the play, especially knowing how much his two mischievous friends exaggerated certain parts and deleted other parts of it for marketability. He, as the central character, was turned into the instrumental main character crucial for their rise and success, with him having been just the wild card of the one team in case things went wrong. The play portrayed him as the one who did the last heroic charge and defeated the dungeon's last boss when he was the one who buffed the hell out of the vanguard to land the final blow.

But at the same time, he couldn't deny how thrilled the majority of Tempest's citizens, practically all of the NPCs, and a good portion of foreigners were to learn about the guild's history. He also understood the pain of producers trying to adapt a source material into another media, giving him much sympathy for the animation and drawing teams of Earth he formerly used to slam for being "incompetent."

Seeing how happy Albedo was at the prospect of seeing the play he could not help but say, "Those were the days. I hope Pero can get us-"

"Each major theater has a VIP lodge prepared just for you. I will notify the director of the Royal Theater that we are coming."

"In that case, it's a date. But first, we should investigate what the science department is doing so we don't have to worry about them later."

"Of course." Albedo took his side and wrapped her arm around his. Calmed down and happy, the succubus and the Lord walk towards the door to his office.

After a short mental preparation, Momonga teleported both of them to the central testing area. If his emotional suppression ability could be overloaded through sheer sight and sound alone, it would have at the moment the scene came into view. His mind was almost thrown into a scramble if it wasn't for his intrinsic undead ability, the room was chaos, chaos!

Dozens of NPCs were wearing bright neon yellow construction vests overlaying military uniforms identical to Pandora's, running around and constructing various models, directing the construction of said models, or creating new designs over desks. A tall dwarf and an Anubissial, an Egyptian-themed crafting-oriented type of NPC, were loudly arguing over a landmine in broken German.

If they were to look up "Organized Chaos" in the newly-published 'Popular Tempestian Phrases and Their Meanings' novel by one of Pero's sponsored authors, they would have to update the image to supply this scene instead. Momonga thought it couldn't get any more ridiculous than this sight before him, but it paled to what his gaze fell on next.

Ramiris was flying through the air, wildly swinging with what appeared to be bright glowing sticks in her hands. Neither Momonga nor Albedo could correctly discern the properties of the fairy's unique weapons, but he guessed they were made out of pure light.

Right now, Ramiris was sparring with a black-helmeted lizardman. Since the lizardman was also wielding the same weapon as the fairy, Momonga assumed that both of them were participating in some sort of experiment for durability, if the straightforward but resounding whistles, shrieks, and clangs were anything. Interestingly, she was simultaneously deflecting bullets shot at her by Veldora, who was taking potshots with what appeared to be a modified automatic rifle.

By how his aura leaked out, it seemed that Veldora was fueling the weapon the lizardman held while Ramiris kept hers active with her energies. It was a three-way fight, perhaps they were testing Ramiris' new fighting capabilities ever since she became an equivalent to a teenager.

Along the walls, a series of aircraft reminiscent of the 21st century American Air Force lined the walls mixed with the futuristic aircraft from the Star Wars fandom. Along with the planes, a series of tanks line the walls, from American M1A1 Abrams to German Leopard 2s. Considering Pandora's near obsession with military technology, Momonga was somewhat versed in models and could recognize few.

The dragon was also dressed in a yellow coat, topped with the same hat everyone else was wearing at an odd angle. Additionally, Veldora lacked the wartime uniform as his chest was as bare as ever.

Ramiris smacked the light stick out of the lizardman's hand and shouted at the top of her lungs "Force powers for the win, bitches!" The lizardman bowed and immediately scrambled off to apparently compile a report on the duel if the half-dozen spectators handing him papers were anything.

'Oh no, it's contagious! Pandora is spreading.' Momonga wished for the earth to swallow him as his chuuni past flooded his skull once more, which unfortunately didn't happen. It could have, but Mare wasn't around.

Veldora sensing danger from behind, flipped around and greeted both with the greatest smile he could manage on the spot. "Hey, Chief, Albedo."

"Lord Veldora, could you please explain to us the… exercise you were conducting?" Albedo asked, her usual smile slimmer than ever as her dagger-like eyes pierced the dragon.

"Umm, you see… I was testing this prototype assault rifle we had designed and constructed last night, and Ramiris and Gabiru were experimenting with magicule-based close combat weapons."

"These are lightsabers! Lord Veldora drew inspiration from the sacred texts and proposed we could construct them last week." Ramiris flew closer and proudly showed them her toy, completely ignorant of the atmosphere and essentially throwing the poor dragon under the bus.

The thirty-centimeter tall tube which served as the weapon's handle was designed to be fueled by the wielder's magicules, with what appeared to be a sort of miniature battery contained within. Which could be shaped to resemble a blade, although vague, and likely wouldn't be that useful on the battlefield.

Was there really any practicality to the weapon? That would be hard to determine, but first impressions leaned toward no. It wasn't even cost-effective, as one would need to burn vast amounts of magicules to maintain its incredible power. The rent pieces of armor nearby could testify to that, burned akin to wounds from the sci-fi saga the saber drew heavy inspiration from.

"I see." Momonga accepted the weapon. Despite its shortcomings, those shortcomings could be fixed by prioritizing efficiency over raw power output, and he was sure Pandora could design more optimal shapes for usage.

The weapon's internal design was simple, and activating it was as simple as pouring energy into it, allowing it to be used by those less proficient in magicule control. Only this time the sword was not made out of light, but swirling darkness with little white dots scattered around, akin to a clear night sky. He could see this new technology being applied to other appliances, such as the gun Veldora was wielding, or even barriers for the common citizen, but for now, it was just a toy.

'Hmm, it seems the weapon reflects the nature of its wielder.'

Seeing it as nothing more than a toy, he deactivated the weapon and handed it back to Ramiris.

"Ah, Vater, Albedo." Pandora appeared next to them, saluting.

"Pandora, I see everyone is hard at work." Momonga glanced at Veldora who was slowly inching away. "Would you mind giving us a small tour?"

"It would be an honor!" Pandora exclaimed.

The first part of the tour started with the weapons designed to slow down Hinata's army. It was their most crucial one first and foremost, and was the most chaotic section of the laboratory.

Pandora had personally designed various types of landmines and other hidden traps. Some were filled with regular explosives, while others had spiked shrapnels, acids, and flammable oils as bases. One design Pandora was particularly proud of was a camouflaged accessory for trees that could turn nearby leaves into sharpened weapons for close-distance ambushes.

He had also created suicide troopers; the lowest kind of skeleton summonable with packs of high-yield explosives strapped onto them. An army that was used to fighting mostly in close combat would likely be unprepared to deal with such an attacker, particularly when surprised since these undead could pair very well with shadow demons.

Yet the most devastating countermeasure was the creation of massive barrels of napalm that could be dropped on the enemies through gates. It didn't matter that the enemy had thousands of healers and battle-ready water mages. Even with minimal casualties, such attacks would destroy morale and wear down their minds as surveillance would have to be increased.

Most of these weapons weren't planned to be used long term, hence them being mostly disposable, as Pandora's real effort was poured into developing modern weaponry.

The rocketry research team had already developed the first prototypes of two types of missiles and were prepared to test them upon the enemy. First were more conventional supersonic missiles, with larger ones capable of carrying up to two hundred kilo warheads and smaller ones still up to one hundred kilo warheads. They also had already drafted up rudimentary plans to begin mass production, confident in preliminary tests done within.

The second, and no doubt the much more dangerous variety, were the ones with teleportation enchantments. Such missiles were almost impossible to produce without shields, given their contents, and more shields had to be applied for use before teleportation. They could be used to bypass anti-aerial defenses and armies, instead directly appearing above cities like the fabled rods of gods.

Momonga and Albedo didn't speak much, choosing to let Pandora give whatever explanations he deemed necessary as they wandered the hallways and analyzed their contents.

The teams that were assigned to build the tank and plane prototypes had little to show at the moment, aside from initial models built directly from the stolen military documents, but it at least gave a clear picture of where most of the magisteel would be used. At most, they had designs and smaller prototypes, but nothing of possible use, as the advanced electronics were impossible without metals and crafting techniques impossible with current techniques.

What Pandora could show were the impressive magicule engines. Obviously, the ones researched deep within Nazarick were kilometers above the ones created by the dummy teams or the second-level research teams, capable of pumping out enough electrical energy to rival smaller nuclear power plants. The farce that was the joint research with Dwargon wasn't even worth mentioning in any of their eyes as their efforts were laughable in comparison. If Dwargon held up their twigs, Nazarick would flatten them with adamantite rods.

Varying in sizes like baseballs to car engines, these magicule engines were a work of art, something even Albedo had to acknowledge despite the staggering costs to design and produce. The biggest engine Pandora had explained was only a two-by-one meter, which could easily power a battleship-sized machine, and they were actively researching how to create larger engines to power mechas the size of mountains at Lord Veldora's insistence.

The next stations up for scrutiny were the robotics teams, something even Momonga wasn't all that familiar with when he saw it. He was led to tables scattered with humanlike metal skeletons, though they were underdeveloped and still being designed. Dozens of anubissials were melding, cooling, bending, or groaning as they continued their work on the metals.

"As you see Vater, the base model is made out of magisteel, but we are also trying to create more advanced models out of beliat and star silver for greater durability and magical compatibility."

"Have you found a way to recreate Shizue's programming?" Momonga asked. Albedo stood silent, likely calculating the costs to sustain such projects while recuperating the losses from earlier.

Creating fully autonomous androids would, without a doubt, add more much-needed manpower and fighting power to Nazarick, as the nearly indestructible metal bodies would be impervious to most attacks.

"Only partially. From my best estimates, the first working model will be created in sixteen months' time, giving me plenty of time to finish and refine its code. Thanks to your Omniscience, I am capable of similar feats, although with somewhat reduced results. The sequential working models are timelined to be advanced and tested every few weeks."

Pandora led them to a relatively sparse corner of the massive lab, where a single frame lay on a table, surrounded by dozens of models, hundreds of blueprints, and possibly thousands of charts. This one looked different from the others. While the rest were being created on the principles of regular robotics, this figure, save for its skeletal structure, had handmade biceps weaved with the same material.

"And this, this is my magnum opus! A caloric stone-based expression of magical technology. For now, I have given it a seven mega unit magicule engine, but I hope to vastly improve the design and reach over ten million. It can wield even the heaviest of prototypes and lift thousands of kilograms." Pandora spoke like a proud child showing off his efforts to a hard-to-please parent, which to be fair he kinda was with Albedo's gradually worsening expression spurring the stepson on to keep revealing greater and greater projects.

"Where did you get the materials for this? The caloric stone was supposed to be used to create a backup body for Rubedo," Momonga asked.

"Please do not worry father. Rubedo's body has been created and is ready to use. Even a backup body has been created if the first is destroyed and unrecoverable for unknown reasons. The production rate of caloric stone has exceeded the plan by twenty-three percent, allowing for excess material to be used elsewhere. This here, hopefully, will become a new floor guardian capable of the same feats as their organic counterparts, protecting the newer floors Ramiris creates."

"It's not a bad idea. Nazarick is expanding and with it comes the need for more floor guardians," Momonga agreed.

"Would this machine hold the same loyalty to Nazarick as the direct creations of Supreme Beings?"

Albedo poked the half-made muscle with an index finger, noting its flexibility and sheer contained magical power.

"The core, unchangeable part I am coding into every android is undying loyalty towards the Supreme Beings. This one here I intend to be a younger brother or sister of sorts to me, and holds loyalty to Vater above all else!"

Pandora's answer clearly satisfied Albedo as she didn't ask any follow-up questions. Costs were high, but justified costs were always high.

The last part of the tour was in the separate facility where the nuclear experiments were conducted, and there the number of assistants dropped dramatically.

As of now, there wasn't much to see. According to Pandora, the trial to split magicules into spiritrons was successful, but there wasn't even any remotely practical use for the technology as of now.

In theory, a nuclear magi-bomb could be created, but with a limited understanding of the process, it would not be better than a singular full-force attack from a floor guardian. Which, considering the immense

effort and massive amounts of resources required to create even one nuclear weapon, wasn't worth the effort. When Pandora rattled off the sheer volume of resources used for a singular explosion experiment, Albedo almost strangled the doppelganger right there and then if it wasn't for Momonga placing a hand on her shoulder.

The tour left a lasting impression that, with the advancements made in the science department despite its early stages, Tempest would soon become the most technologically advanced nation by an insurmountable degree, and it would only grow larger and more powerful with time.

Reluctantly, Albedo allowed Pandora's Actor to keep the resources it had already taken, but she quickly petitioned and got the raw material situation sorted out with Ramiris. She did have to reduce the total amount of material flowing into the science department compared to what it was under Pero, but Pandora was more than understanding.

Momonga and Albedo greatly enjoyed their afternoon out, even going to eat at a luxurious restaurant in Tempest's richest segment afterward and ending with a nap in their Nazarick beds before the other wives found out.

Editing by aidan_lo

Proofreading by aidan_lo, FantasyTroll, Cakeeight, Aurodium, Lightflan, Working_Stiff, atharv, x4x and Sluethen

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).