I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 45: Gaia 2

The energy from over a thousand Goblins and Orcs was rather distinct.

In truth, it wasn’t about taste.

If I had to describe it, it was like swallowing thorns.

The sensation of my mouth, tongue, throat, and even my insides being mercilessly stabbed and clawed was ghastly, even for an android like Alice.

[Ah, n-nooo…!]

The Earth Mother Goddess was horrified as she watched Alice drain her life force.

The energy Alice had faintly siphoned from the bio-factory before was just a faint, thin branch of power.

But Gaia, who descended directly to this place by merging the life and flesh of over a thousand monsters, was directly connected to her true self.

[Sto- stop it…stop! You can’t…you can’t do this…!]

Gaia pleaded desperately with Alice.

It wasn’t to beg for her life.

Nor was it because the pain was unbearable.

Gaia was genuinely concerned for Alice.

[You are a being of the surface…! H-hack…! If a child of the surface takes my essence, my body…a disaster will happen!]

Though she hadn’t been on the surface for long and her intelligence and reason were not yet fully formed, Gaia forced out words from her barely functioning voice to desperately warn Alice.

“Be quiet.”

[Kh… hyah!]

But Alice pressed the Mantis Blade down more forcefully, pinning the struggling Gaia.

Gaia’s hands were perfectly pinned to the ground by the Mantis Blade.

Meanwhile, the mechanical tendrils protruding from Alice’s spine precisely pierced Gaia’s sinews, ligaments, and muscles—siphoning energy from the queen’s vital parts.

Even as Gaia tried to resist, her entire body was being meticulously targeted.

On top of that, her energy was being drained in real-time, making proper movement impossible.

[Stop it. Really, you must stop. Before it becomes irreversible… please, stop!]

The unfiltered life force of nature and the twisted energy of the Earth Mother Goddess were brutal and unrefined, a chaotic force of disorder.

Gaia knew this better than anyone.

When humans directly absorbed Gaia’s energy without filtering, antennae sprouted from their eyes, their limbs turned into odd numbers, and irregular organs like tails or wings—or the features of beasts and monsters—bloomed from their bodies like flowers.

Of course, during that process, human ethics and reason would shatter.

Entangled with countless forms of life, they would no longer be considered human.

“Irreversible? Your energy is so delicious…!”

[H- hic?!]

Gaia thrashed in resistance, declaring that this absolutely couldn’t happen.

But Alice was determined to seize everything.

With terrifying resolve, she pierced and stabbed Gaia, crushing her wrists in her grip as she consumed and drained everything.

To an onlooker, it might have appeared like two girls entangled in some unsavory act.

The victim was the pure-hearted and kind Gaia, while the aggressor was the wicked and depraved Alice.

But in truth, it was Alice who was risking her life.

‘I’m screwed if I don’t take it all…!’

Alice’s internal energy reserves were already severely depleted.

If she failed to incapacitate Gaia now, there would be no second chance.

She would probably be captured by the twisted Earth Mother Goddess and kept underground forever as some kind of cherished doll.

That outcome was absolutely unacceptable.

“Haa… haa… haa. Give me more…!”

[Khh, urgh… your body…it’s so hot…too hot! Aaagh…!]

As Alice consumed Gaia, a twisted smile of triumph and ecstasy spread across her face.

She still looked stunning.

But the most unexpected thing was…

[Why… why are you okay?]

Gaia, despite her growing agitation, realized that no mutations had occurred in Alice.

Alice was simply intoxicated by the euphoria of absorbing the Earth Mother Goddess’s energy, as if she were a drunk savoring fine wine.

That’s right.

It was only then that Gaia realized Alice could fully accept and absorb her power without issue.

[Ah…]

As that thought crossed her mind, Gaia found Alice even more beautiful than before.

With her overheated body melting parts of her synthetic skin, Alice’s eerie mechanical frame pinned Gaia down.

It made Gaia feel, for a moment, as though this child had overpowered her out of love.

Everything is being taken.

Taken by this child.

[Ah, aah… aaah… ahh…!]

For the first time, the twisted Earth Mother Goddess, who had come to the surface with awareness of self and reason, realized she was being plundered without hesitation by this beautiful child she encountered for the first time.

Not just some insignificant branch, but her true branch.

Her life force connected to the root.

The sensation of something being taken from her seemed to pierce and stimulate something deep inside Gaia.

Being forced down by power, feeling as though all her precious essence was being stolen, the experience somehow felt electrifying.

‘Damn it, damn it. Damn it…! What kind of monster is this girl?! Her energy, her life force—it’s bottomless!’

Of course, Alice, who was consuming Gaia’s power, wasn’t in her right mind either.

Alice’s original goal was simply to test her Mantis Blade, cutting down Goblins or Orcs to gather combat data.

She had set out with a light-hearted, almost picnic-like mindset, intending to strengthen herself a little as part of her daily routine.

But somehow, either by coincidence or accident, the True Ancestor Virus manifested in the Barrier Agency, summoning a monstrous mosquito-like entity.

Then, the first party she joined betrayed her, resulting in her head getting impaled by a demonic sword.

Now, the twisted Earth Mother Goddess herself had descended, speaking incomprehensible words and attacking her—what kind of cosmic joke was this?

‘My luck is just the worst…!’

A wanderer’s curse that keeps one from staying in one place.

A deadly star that portends a fate of killing others.

A hero destined to save the world.

A Demon King destined to destroy it.

Such tales of destiny were nonsense Alice didn’t believe in, but with every step she took, something dreadful emerged to trip her up.

It felt as though some force manipulating human fate was deliberately throwing her into incidents and chaos, like a character in a novel.

Even now, Alice was desperately draining Gaia’s energy.

【Energy remaining: 70… 60… 55… 50… 45… 40… 35…】

The cause of her body overheating during the fight was, of course, the complete mobilization and exhaustion of her internal energy.

To deal with Gaia, who could regenerate severed limbs in an instant and instantly read and copy Alice’s Mantis Blade, movements, stances, and even appearance, Alice and Theresa had to squeeze out every ounce of their remaining strength.

【Subject name: Gaia.】

【Detecting a large quantity of unrefined life energy and mana.】

【This entity appears capable of assuming any biological form and applying optimal mutations in real time.】

【Current power and equipment will not suffice against Gaia’s true strength, nor will escape be possible.】

【Therefore, all available power must be used to incapacitate Gaia.】

Since entering Ark, Alice had always maintained her battery energy at no less than 60%.

But now, her reserves had been drained in an instant.

To subdue Gaia, who still wasn’t showing genuine hostility toward Alice, the only option left was to absorb the energy from Gaia’s physical form.

Fortunately, the drain effect seemed to benefit Gaia as well.

‘Theresa, how much energy does Gaia have left?’

【By calculation, you’ll need to hold out for another 10 minutes.】

‘Can my energy last that long?!’

【Converting the life force absorbed from Gaia into internal energy. Human, keep pushing.】

‘This is insane…! If we mess this up, you and I are going to get dragged underground by that lunatic Earth Mother Goddess and turned into her dolls!’

【We’ll give it our best.】

The large quantity of unrefined energy was almost too much for even Alice to handle.

To deal with this, Theresa rerouted all internal systems not related to the combat module subduing Gaia into the energy conversion process.

This made it barely possible to absorb Gaia’s energy and simultaneously convert that life force into usable energy for Alice.

[Ah… aaah… huuuh…!]

After 30 minutes, Gaia seemed to finally run out of energy.

She stopped resisting and let her body slump.

However, her expression didn’t seem twisted in pain but rather resembled a mother gazing at her admirable daughter.

“Haa, haa, haa…!”

[You… you’ve consumed it all…]

Gaia spoke weakly, while Alice, despite being an android, showed clear signs of exhaustion.

The process of Theresa absorbing and converting Gaia’s life force into energy had taken some time, leaving Alice still unable to fully relax.

[For a child of the surface to consume that… you’ll suffer severe consequences…]

“And now you’re worried about me?”

[From the beginning, I… was worried about you.]

Gaia smiled faintly and stared intently at Alice.

As if trying to capture everything in her eyes.

Or perhaps as if vowing never to forget.

[Ah… my body is crumbling away…]

Cracks began to form on Gaia’s green body.

Having her life force completely drained, she was ceasing to function as a living being.

Gaia used the last of her remaining strength to whisper to Alice.

[I’ll come back again, my beautiful child…]

“…Let’s never meet again.”

[Ahaha, so cold… I like that about you too.]

With those words, Gaia’s body, which resembled Alice’s, began to crumble slowly.

It was like an ancient tree, dried of all moisture, turning to dust.

“Ugh… haa… it’s over…”

Alice let out a weary sigh and slumped, her strength drained.

Theresa controlled mechanical tendrils to support Alice’s collapsing body.

Using the tendrils as makeshift legs, Theresa lifted Alice’s body and performed an internal energy check, confirming there were no abnormalities.

【Human, you’ve worked hard.】

“Haaa… how did things end up like this…”

Alice couldn’t understand how she had ended up facing a monstrous entity like Gaia.

Gaia had shown a certain fondness and interest in Alice, enough for her to notice, but if the twisted Earth Mother Goddess had truly intended to kill her, the outcome would’ve been far from certain.

Just like when facing the True Ancestor, luck had played a large part despite Alice’s strength.

-Thunk!

At that moment, the eerie sound of the biological factory’s massive intestines writhing echoed through the air.

“…Theresa.”

【Confirmed. Biological factory reactivating.】

【Reactivating.】

【Reactivation confirmed.】

【Activation levels: 60… 70… 80… 100… 110…!】

The writhing within the intestinal organ signaled the synthesis and birth of new life forms.

And it showed a pattern similar to Gaia’s body, which had attacked Alice earlier.

“Don’t tell me… that all those intestines are going to churn out something like Gaia again?”

Theresa remained silent.

Even for Theresa, all available data and the current situation were filled with unknowns, making deductions and predictions inaccurate.

-Crack!

-Thud!

-Squish!

-Hiss!

The biological factory consisted of numerous organs made of massive flesh and intestines.

And Gaia, in the form of a green-skinned girl, had emerged from one of them.

Now there were dozens of these intestine-like organs in the vicinity.

This meant that dozens of beings resembling Gaia could potentially appear.

【Energy levels are continuing to rise. Human, prepare yourself!】

The easiest preparation would simply be to run away.

With the intestines writhing and preparing to spit out life forms, now was the perfect time to escape.

But “retreat” wasn’t in Alice’s vocabulary.

It was partly a matter of pride, and in a way, the factory’s rampage and Gaia’s descent were partially Alice’s doing.

Even though she still didn’t fully understand how things had escalated, Alice bit her lip and stood up.

I have to stop this.

If dozens of creatures like Gaia were born, escaped, and attacked the outer wall, countless innocent people would undoubtedly die.

“Ah, damn it… Theresa, sorry, but you’ll have to go along with my stubbornness.”

【…Understood.】

Alice cursed under her breath and drew the Mantis Blade and her sword.

“…Theresa, let’s destroy this place.”

【Confirmed.】

There was no need for prolonged deliberation.

The mechanical tendrils immediately climbed walls and ceilings like spider legs, carrying Alice to the highest point.

If the biological factory was rampaging out of control beyond Gaia’s influence, it needed to be destroyed.

Even if it wasn’t, if Gaia was generating a new body within the factory to capture Alice, destruction was the right course of action.

Although Alice felt uneasy about destroying one of Ark’s primary sources of income and the scavenging zone for the outer exploration agency, now was not the time to hesitate.

Fortunately, the energy she had expended had been more than replenished.

The life force she had drained directly from Gaia was not only vast but also recklessly abundant and chaotic.

Theresa confirmed that Alice, in her current state, couldn’t contain this massive energy.

Thus, now was the ideal moment to expend it.

-Bang!

Breaking through the ceiling, Alice reached the highest point of the biological factory and looked down from the lofty height.

The moment her position aligned perfectly with the factory below, Alice opened her mouth.

-Grrrrrrr!

A Breath attack.

Though it was a shameful power absorbed from the Scrap Dragon—a dragon incapable of flight—it still enabled the use of Breath, an ability of catastrophic might.

Breath involved absorbing immense life force and mana, exhaling it as a cataclysmic release of power.

Alice, having absorbed and refined the power into her own, began concentrating the energy, not in her mouth, but in both hands.

【Energy turbine, output at 80…】

【Output at 90… 95… 100!】

【Objective: Destroy biological factory and eliminate Gaia’s aftermath.】

【Prevent unverified biological factory rampage.】

【Output at maximum capacity!】

“This isn’t enough!”

Even with the energy controlled in her hands, it was more than Alice could bear, but she felt it still wasn’t sufficient to completely silence the factory.

She needed to utilize everything—the power of the Scrap Dragon, the True Ancestor, and the energy she had absorbed from Gaia.

【Confirmed.】

Theresa acknowledged Alice’s request.

【Connecting energy module synapses.】

【Releasing energy turbine output limit.】

【Emergency shutdown of safety locks.】

【Output levels 100… 110… 120…】

The Mantis Blades extending from her wrists transformed along the back of her hands, taking the shape of claws to stabilize the energy sphere.

Mechanical tendrils from her spine enveloped the energy sphere, acting as an auxiliary system to manage its overwhelming output.

Her hands trembled, and Theresa’s voice became distorted and faint due to the immense energy.

【Energy amplification confirmed.】

【Setting available energy to maximum rampage threshold.】

“Let’s never meet again, Gaia.”

【Rail Breath.】

【Fire.】

-KWAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

A colossal, ashen beam erupted from Alice’s hands.

The Scrap Dragon’s molten iron merged with the boiling crimson light of the True Ancestor’s blood and Gaia’s vast life energy.

These incompatible forces were forcibly synthesized and unleashed, resulting in an apocalyptic breath of destruction.

The massive surge of energy began obliterating the biological factory from its foundation.

The newly created life forms, birthed from the factory’s rampage, perished before even taking their first breaths.

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Alice, clutching an old, rusted transmission tower, watched as the biological factory was utterly destroyed and lifted her scorched hand.

“Haa… my hand parts… where can I even replace these?”

【…Can… be done…】

Theresa’s voice, distorted by the strain of handling such massive energy, was faint.

“I’ll take that as a yes…”

-BOOM!!!

The ground and foundation of the biological factory collapsed.

With each consecutive explosion, the stench of burning flesh filled the air, and immense clouds of smoke rose.

In the distance, the sounds of hunters and Executors reacting to the disturbance could be heard.

She had to leave before she was discovered.

“Tonight, I’m downing an obscene amount of oil beer.”

【Your remaining balance allows it, so that sounds acceptable.】

“Haa…”

Alice laughed at Theresa’s now fully restored voice.

Her luck was unbelievably bad.

Still, there wouldn’t be a next time like this.

If there was, she’d cry.