Chapter 769: The Tale of the Mechanized God ? (1/2)

With Alicia……. Alice's heart regaining its original strength and hope, Makina's goal was accomplished. After that, she continued to fight with Alice for a little while, before she stopped attacking because ”her line of fire overlapped with Kaito”, which ended the battle.

There was no way that she, who had almost omnipotent power even in the body of Eden, couldn't avoid attacking Kaito. However, there was no reason for her to continue fighting Alice any longer, so she used that as an excuse to end the fight right there.

After that, she apologized for getting her child, Kaito, involved, and after she told Alice that she was Makina, her goal would have been completed.

Yes…… As far as she was concerned, that should have been where the story ended.

Her only miscalculation was that Kaito had turned his fangs against her…… possessing the qualities of her ”beloved child”, someone she had been waiting for for so many years, and the being who deserved her overflowing love.

This brought her, Makina's tension to an all-time high. At any rate, even though the situation wasn't completely resolved yet, her best friend Alicia was able to regain her hope and she was able to find her beloved child.

At the peak of her happiness, she adopted the name Eden, just as she had thought before coming to this world.

Yes, to put things simply…… She forgot to tell Alice that her true identity was Makina.

When Alice discovered her true identity, she judged that ”rather than her having that one important factor, it's more like she has a screw loose”, and exactly just as Alice thought, Makina was just so excited by the appearance of her beloved child that the most essential part as to why she even visited Trinia.

Makina only realized this as soon as she left. However, while that might be the case…… It wasn't in line with the dignity of a god for her to just go back and say ”I'm actually Makina” after having left with such a posed look on her face, so she was greatly troubled.

And in order to tell her who she is again, she thought of ”visiting Alice's miscellaneous goods store”.

Makina thought that by going to Alice's miscellaneous goods store, she could also see her beloved child, and tell Alice her true identity, which she had forgotten the last time she saw her…… It truly was like killing three birds with one stone.

However, when Makina visited Alice's miscellaneous goods store, inwardly excited, but a big miscalculation occurred at that moment as well. As soon as she arrived, the words she heard from Alice……

[……Immediately leave, go home!]

……If she were to say it, ”she was extremely shocked”…… She was so shocked that she almost lost her connection to Paradise for a moment.

No, of course, Makina understood in her head that it couldn't be helped. Since Alice doesn't know her true identity, Makina couldn't blame her for being hostile to her like that…….

However, she was shocked to see her best friend, whom she loved more than she could ever imagine, glaring at her with eyes full of hostility, that she slightly panicked.

In such a stormy situation, she worried about how to tell Alice who she really is, and as a result, she got stuck in ”a vicious cycle where her responses to Alice became more and more curt”.

In addition, she had to deal with her love for her beloved child and the sudden intrusion of Kuromueina, and before she could even recover mentally, those few words suddenly arrived.

[……Kaito-san, I hate her.]

If she were to say it this time too, she was extremely shocked. She was so hurt by her words that if the main body had been the one in that place, she would have cried.

(……Alicia told me that she hated me……)

Her facial expression hadn't changed, but she was honestly close to mentally blowing up……

[It's not like I wanted to be liked by you. Being liked by you doesn't have any use at all.]

——-that she ended up replying with something that, now that she thought about it, sounded really strange. At such a time, it was Kaito who came to her rescue, and him, telling her to ”get along with Alice” truly was a helping hand for Makina.

Thanks to this, her evaluation of Kaito was even higher than before, further doubling in greatness, but fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one who noticed it.

Even in the miscellaneous goods store, thinking about it again, Makina is also acting in a way that one would consider strange.

When she was asked by Kaito to get along with her, she gave a large sum of money as a token of friendship. Yes, it was the fact that ”she understood what Alice, someone who shouldn't have been her child, would be happy to receive”.

After that, her overflowing love for Kaito almost got out of control, but she was able to recover some of her relationship with Alice. However, just before she left the store, she was actually feeling a great amount of guilt.

(……I'm sorry, my beloved child. I will definitely make it up to you…… so please forgive me for being a bad mother who uses you as an excuse.)

Yes, when she left the store, she bought a lot of Alice's goods from the miscellaneous goods store for a reason…… and if she were to be asked why, it was because ”she just wanted it”.

Being omniscient, Makina naturally knew that all of the goods in the miscellaneous goods store were handmade by Alice, so she wanted to somehow buy them and take them home.

However, as the God of a world, it wasn't a dignified act to make a large purchase just because ”they were handmade by her best friend”, so she had to do it in a roundabout way.

Thanks to that, she is able to buy some of Alice's handmade goods, and she left the miscellaneous goods store feeling inwardly happy, thinking that she would take good care of the plushies…… but her shoulders slumped down as she realized that she had forgotten to introduce herself again.

Once she had missed the right moment, it's very difficult to say something, so it would take a long time before she was able to tell Alice that she was Makina.

After taking a break while reminiscing about the past, Makina slowly stood up from the edge of the building they were sitting at and smiled.

[Well, let's stop talking about the past and get started, shall we?]

[Ahh~~ Guess you're right. I've already had my fill, so let's get started.]

After Alice nodded at Makina's words and stood up, the scenery switched to a completely white space again. Floating through the space, Makina landed a few distance away from Alice before she spoke.

[Are you ready? Have you activated Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form?]

[Yes, well, I may not be as strong as I liked in the times I needed to protect Kaito-san, but I'm ready to fight.]

[……Ready to fight…… huh…… Fufufu.]

[Wha!?]

Hearing Alice say that she's ready as she quickly activated Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form while Makina moved a little further away, a serene smile appeared on Makina's face.

Her smile was gentle, and there was no hint of hostility in it…… but in the next moment, Alice found herself down on her knees.

[Hmmm…… I might have been a bit ”naive in my perception”.]

[Kuhh, this is……]

She couldn't feel magic power being used, but she couldn't feel any strength in her body and wasn't able to stand up. Alice is confused by the inexplicable situation she was in, but Makina just continued to speak with a smile on her face.

[I want you to think of something. Alice, the people you think has high combat power…… Ahh, Epilogue is on a whole another realm, so exclude it, but you can add Shallow Vernal without it, or Kuromueina, or even the Eden me. Anyway, imagine all the powerful people you can think of.]

[…………………..]

[……Were you able to imagine it? Then, I'll tell you something important. The powerful people that Alice has just imagined…… In terms of combat, ”even if all of them worked together, they would still be no match for me”. You should first change your perception about that first…… Lest ”you won't even be able to stand before me”.]

Hearing the words Makina gently said, Alice fell silent for a while. She wasn't making light of Makina, nor was she underestimating her. But even so, her perception towards her is still naive.

As soon as she understood this, Alice slowly stood up, desperately putting strength into her legs.

[……Aryaa, as expected of Alice. Have you already noticed what the ”cause” is?]

[Cause…… However, I'll say this now. ”You didn't do anything”. You didn't even emit the slightest bit of magic power…… That was simply a case of ”my body yielding on its own even with just the meagre sight of you taking on a battle stance”, right?]

[Correct. If one had to describe it, it's just that the ”pressure of my very existence” makes Alice's body ”unconditionally accept defeat”.]

[I see, so…… my perception is still naive.]

[That's right…… Even a little bit, don't let your guard down. Squeeze every bit of strength you can out of your body, pour every bit of your feelings into your body, and push yourself beyond the limits…… So that finally, you can stand before me.]

With a smile still on her face, Makina hasn't even released a shred of magic power from her body. But even so, Alice can feel a pressure that would crush her if she were to relax even slightly.

She is that strong. Alice, who possesses power that could be described as quasi-omnipotent, tried to muster her everything…… and she was only able to reach a level where she could stand against her……

[……Haahhh…… Good grief————]

[ [ Omniscient and omnipotent Gods sure are outrageous huh.] ]

[……………………]

[Unnn, of course, I'm perfectly ”omnipotent” and ”omniscient”. Now then, let's start with the intensive training…… Of course, I'll take it easy on you, but still, do your best. I'll say this now though, because there are no other ways to describe my abilities, so omnipotent and omniscient might perfectly fit me…… but I'm way stronger than those omnipotent and omniscient gods out there.]

Saying this, the Machine God, one of the most superior world creators in the vast multiverse, smiled at her best friend. Hidden within that smile is a slight provocation, asking Alice to at least make her use a little bit of her power……

In a corner of the empty white space, Alice was lying on her back, exhausted. Looking at such an Alice with a smile, Makina lightly held up her hand.

[For the time being, I think I'll leave it at this for our first battle…… I'll heal you know, okay?]

[……Thanks…… Rather, Makina, you're too strong……]

[Fufufu, well, even like this, I'm still a god, you know? Even so, as expected of Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form, your growth rate is really fast. You were even able to attack properly at the end.]

While restoring Alice's exhausted vitality and magic power, Makina spoke words of praise. In fact, from her point of view, Alice's growth isn't a bad thing. Compared to before their battle started, she has clearly grown a lot.

[……Just out of curiosity, what percentage of power did Makina use in our earlier fight?]

[Hmmm…… Errr, zero point…… ”a lot of zeroes after that”, I guess?]

[I knew it's around that level huh. Good grief, you're seriously strong.]

Makina's words that she hadn't exerted even 1% of her power seemed to have been something Alice expected, as after she raised her upper body, Alice dumbfoundedly looked up at the skies.

Smiling at such an Alice, Makina sat down next to Alice and spoke.

[Well, under the current condition, whether it's a hundred or a thousand battles, I'm sure I'll win all of them. However, if I'm trying to harm my beloved child and Alice is trying to protect him, I can't say I'll win. I think that's part of Alice's strength.]

[Now that's quite the high evaluation you have of me.]

[Fufufu, Alice is my hero after all.]

After praising Alice with a smile, Makina put a finger over her mouth, looking as if she's thinking about something.

[Hmmm…… Let's see, I guess we should set some immediate goals for the time being.]

[Well, it certainly would be easier if I have some target direction in mind.]

[Unnn, that's why, your immediate goal…… How about powerful enough that you could use ”my Heart Tool”?]

[……What did you say?]

Alice was clearly taken aback by the word ”Heart Tool” mentioned by Makina, but the intelligent girl immediately thought of the reason, clapping her lightly a few moments later.

[……Ahh, I see, come to think of it, I did use my Ultimate Battle Form when Makina was a human…… In other words, you were in contact with my Heart Tool back when it was fused with me.]

[That's right…… Well, for the omnipotent me, it's not really a power I need to bother using. Even so, being able to use my Heart Tool with Ἑκατόγχειρες proves that you're somewhat close to my power, so wouldn't that be a good goal?]

[I guess you're right. Well, even so, the Heart Tool of the Makina who became an omnipotent and omniscient god huh…… It must have quite the outrageous power.]

[…………………]

Hearing what Alice thoughtlessly said, Makina quickly looked away with an awkward expression on her face.

[……Makina?]

[Ah, no, errr…… My Heart Tool…… when you're able to use it…… i- it's convenient.]

[……Ahh, I see, it really isn't that strong huh.]

[……But it couldn't be helped. The ability of a Heart Tool isn't determined by its user's personal strength, and besides, the abilities you get from Heart Tools weren't necessarily suitable for combat……]

From the way Makina said it, Alice had guessed that Makina's Heart Tool doesn't have a fighting ability. However, I guess it couldn't be helped. The Heart Tool is just based on the heart of the user, and the user's own combat power wouldn't affect its ability.

[Fumu, well, that's right. Incidentally, what's its name?]

[……”Factory Gear”.]

[That's a very production-oriented name.]

[It actually is a production system. If you want some spoilers, well, as long as it's a non-living thing, ”you can duplicate it by consuming magic power”. Well, there are a lot of restrictions to it, so you can't just duplicate anything.]

[I see, that certainly sounds convenient…… It's not an ability needed by Makina who had the power of creation though.]

[Well, that's right.]

Even when it has limitations, the ability to replicate any non-living things is still amazing, but for the omniscient and omnipotent Makina, its ability was something she can do without using her Heart Tool, and as a result, her Heart Tool is useless for her.

As they were chatting while taking a break like that, it seemed like Alice suddenly thought of something and called out to Makina.