Zzzzz!.....
The other robot, the one shaped like a hybrid between a bull and a rhinoceros, its red eyes locked onto Maruti. A siren-like sound starts coming out of its body, a low, menacing hum that vibrated through the air.
BANG!..BANG!...
Several holes opened up in its body, and from them, several missiles shot towards Maruti at a rapid speed, leaving trails of smoke behind them.
Maruti immediately jumps and sidesteps, her body a blur of motion. She dodged each of them precisely, the missiles whizzing past her, their hot air brushing against her skin.
"Judgement!" she whispers, her hand extended towards that hybrid robot.
A huge golden magic circle appears above that robot, its intricate patterns glowing with a divine light. Although it took a few seconds to fully form up, giving the robot some time to dodge, being a heavy and huge body while also having little to no space to dodge anywhere, there was nothing it could do in its defense.
WOOSHHHH!...
A pillar of golden light descends upon it, so bright it was almost blinding. It caused its entire metal body to melt away, the heat intense and overwhelming.
But a few seconds later, as the golden light faded away, it was still standing, although there were sparks and electricity cracks coming out of its body, its condition was definitely bad. Its metal armor was warped and melted in places, but its core was still intact.
"It survived," Maruti says, a little surprised. She thought it would be over in one attack, a clean and efficient kill.
Although she did kinda expect it, since she held back a little so that there should be no infrastructural damage around them. But it was still impressive.
"These robots have great resistance to elements," Esdeath adds with a faint smile.
SMASH!...
Meanwhile, the orc robot smashes its sword vertically towards Esdeath, like it's weapon was a giant slab of metal.
But at the last moment, Esdeath swiftly dodges by sidestepping, her body moving with an unnatural grace. Its heavy sword directly lands on the ground, causing huge cracks on it, the sound echoing in the hall like a thunderclap.
"Do. Not. Ignore," it says, its voice a deep, metallic rumble, before swinging its sword horizontally at Esdeath, trying to cut her in half.
But instead of dodging, Esdeath disappears in thin air and appears behind him in the next second, a flicker of motion that was almost too fast to see.
Having an affinity with the space element allows her to teleport short distances.
The orc robot turns around, its movements a little slow and clumsy. It smashes its sword once again, but again Esdeath teleports away, dodging its attack without worry, a faint smile on her face.
The robot's eyes vibrate exclusively, as if it was scanning something, its red light blinking rapidly.
Its system was already starting to scan Esdeath's fighting abilities, trying to find a weakness, a pattern in her movements.
Once again, it smashes its sword, but this time, instead of dodging, Esdeath casually raises her hand. She now had enough physical strength to block its attack directly, a testament to her recent power-up.
But the moment its sword was about to make contact with her hand, it's as if it hit something invisible, an unseen force field. Its hand, alongside with the sword, cuts into two pieces, the metal sliced cleanly through.
Sparks and electric cracks appeared from its split hand as it takes a few steps back, its system overwhelmed by the unexpected damage.
Meanwhile, Esdeath just looks at her hand with an impressed look, a small, satisfied smile on her face. "Space affinity is sure useful. I'm not even using any essence stone," she says to herself, a quiet murmur of pride.
Not only space, but all those rare elements like nature, dark, and light have their advantages, unique powers only for them.
Although she did not have them all.
The orc robot was calculating its next move, its processor working overtime. But for Esdeath, the fight was already over. She had seen enough.
She leans forward, her plan resting below her lips as she makes an 'O' with them, a gesture both delicate and deadly.
Several transparent, beautiful butterflies come out of her mouth, their wings shimmering with colourlessness. They flew towards that robot, a swarm of ethereal beauty.
And the moment they made contact, no sound came out. Yet there was a sudden explosion in the air, as if some cracks between the flow of time itself had appeared.
The orc robot's body blasts into several pieces, falling to the ground. It was now nothing more than scrap metal.
"Throat control," Maruti adds from behind her. She had already finished her battle, standing there as if she'd just finished a light workout. She was casually bouncing the robot's core in her hand, a smooth, dark sphere, while the rest of the body laid unmoved behind her, a pile of scrap metal.
"Sparkling butterflies, not throat control," Esdeath shouts, her voice a little sharp. She looked like she was trying to maintain her composure, but for some reason, Maruti's comment had gotten under her skin.
Maruti just chuckles, a low, throaty sound, but didn't argue further.
"Cough... cough... Let's go inside," Esdeath clears her throat, her usual cool and collected self returning. .
They both walk further inside, their footsteps echoing in the silence. Despite the tense, quiet atmosphere, no further attacks happened on them. It was as if they had passed the test.
They safely walk through the hallways and enter inside the main area. It was like a manufacturing company, a factory of death and destruction. Dozens of the same kinds of materials were being made, a conveyor belt of war.
She could see robotic human hands hanging in the air in one line, the wires moving, taking those hands to somewhere else, to be assembled into a new body. In other corners, there were legs, abdomens, and cores being manufactured, the process cold and efficient.
In front of them, there was a small staircase, leading to another room in front of them. Its door were closed as well, although the size of the door clearly suggested that the room would be quite big.
They both walk upstairs, their steps heavy on the metal stairs. They stand in front of the door. Without even them doing anything, smoke comes out of the door and it opens automatically, with a soft hiss.
Both Esdeath and Maruti look at each other and nod, a silent understanding passing between them. They enter inside at the same time.
The moment they enter, green and white lights light up, filling the dark, quiet room with an eerie glow.
The room was quite similar to an advanced laboratory from all those sci-fi stories or movies. Dozens of computers lined up, green lights showing on them, their screens filled with lines of code.
Wires and cables were everywhere in the vast room, a tangled web of technology. Meanwhile, there were many human-sized capsules filled with green liquid, some had organs floating in them, while some had living monsters or animals, their bodies still and silent, like specimens in a jar.
"Welcome. Welcome. Esdeath," a mechanical voice comes out the moment they enter the room.
As Maruti looks up, she sees a big mechanical head attached with several wires that lead to the back of those computers. It had no eyes, only a metal plate instead of eyes, with a wide metallic jaw without any teeth. It was a disembodied head, a god of this machine world.
"AACK!... Fuck, you scared me," Maruti shouts.
"Negative. Facial Features Shows No Sign Of Shock. No Rise In Heartbeat Either," it answers, its voice a monotone, a cold, logical assessment of her reaction.
Maruti just looks away without saying anything back.
"Welcome? If you meant to be that friendly, why wasted our time to test our strength?" Esdeath sighs, her voice a mix of frustration and impatience.
She knew M.A.L.I.C.E. sent those robots to test if they were worthy enough or not, despite Esdeath already long proving herself worthy. It was an unnecessary delay, a game she had no time for.
"I had to test if you are the real Esdeath or not. Last footages from my kins clearly shows that you were killed during your battle with those humans, Even if you were, Then it was test if you are still strong or not," it said, referring to its robots as 'kins,' a word that showed a sense of family, of belonging.
"That's right. But I died several times and I always come back," Esdeath says with a proud smirk, a hint of arrogance in her voice like She was immortal, a force of nature that could not be stopped.
"Perks of being a living being," M.A.L.I.C.E replies in its mechanical voice, a statement that was both a fact and a subtle jab at its own existence, a machine that could not truly die because it was not alive in the first place.
"What is the reason for your visit? Has the time have come to depart for hell?" it asks, its voice devoid of emotion.
Esdeath nods, her expression serious. "Yes, very near. That's why I personally come to inform that. Be ready to depart anytime," Esdeath says, her voice firm and clear.
It pulls its head back, the wires loosening slightly. "No problem. I'm all ready. Let me show you my greatest creation as well," it says, a hint of pride in its mechanical voice.
Meanwhile, Maruti wasn't giving attention to their conversation at all. Instead, her eyes were wandering around the room, looking at everything with a childlike curiosity. She really felt like she was playing some kind of post-apocalyptic game, exploring a secret lab filled with strange and wonderful things.
"I'm still wondering how they managed to make you?" she says, her voice filled with genuine curiosity. For her, dwarfs were just midget guys with a fetish for hammers, that's all. She couldn't imagine them creating something so complex and advanced.
M.A.L.I.C.E.'s head stops, its metal body still. It turns to answer but then stops on its own, as if thinking better of it.
"Forget it. It'll Be Hard To Make You Understand What Internet, Tech, and Modern Science Is..." it answers, its voice a flat, mechanical drone.
For M.A.L.I.C.E., Maruti was just a noble from another kingdom without any knowledge of these technical things. All of this must just look like another kind of magic to her, a strange and inexplicable phenomenon.
"I very well know what internet is," Maruti's thinks to herself, Her lips twitch, a small, almost invisible smile playing on her lips. M.A.L.I.C.E. had no idea that Maruti was from another world of tech and science, a place where things like this were common, at least in theory.
"Back To The Topic," M.A.L.I.C.E. turns its head, its attention back to Esdeath.
A big hole opens in the metal ceiling, the metal parts retracting with a smooth, silent motion. From inside, another capsule attached with metal arms slowly comes down, landing on the ground with a soft thud.
The front of the capsule was transparent but also blurry, like frosted glass. Still, it was still easy to see that something human was inside, sleeping, its body straight up like sleeping while standing.
The next moment, M.A.L.I.C.E.'s head falls to the ground with a loud clang, as if it had lost all its life, its purpose fulfilled.
And then, smoke comes out of the capsule as it slowly opens, the hiss of hydraulics filling the air. From the smoke, the being inside opens its eyes and takes its first step outside, its movements fluid and graceful.
"Here, this will be my new form," an emotionless female voice comes out as M.A.L.I.C.E. comes out in its new body.
It looked very human, but there was no expression on its face at all. The body was that of a female in its prime, with a height of 6'1, black hair that fell in a straight line to its shoulders, and vibrant blue eyes that seemed to see everything. Its skin was pale, almost like porcelain. But the most eye-catching thing was its formal maid outfit, a black and white dress that fitted its perfectly, with white apron like cloth at front with a white maid headband in it's head.
"Holy shit, a sexy maid," Maruti immediately comments, her voice a mix of surprise and amusement.
It looks at her, its eyes scanning, a faint, blue light glowing in its pupils. "Negative. No signs of sexual attraction detected," it says, its voice a monotone, a cold, analytical assessment.
"Heh, you're hot doesn't mean I'll be sexually attracted," Maruti sighs, a little smirk on her face. She wasn't going to feel any attraction towards a robot, no matter how good it looked.
"So you were a female all along?" Esdeath says, this was not what she expected. From what she remembered, in FLF it only took robotic forms, not something so human-looking.
"Negative. I only believe in one gender," it replies, its voice flat and devoid of emotion. It was its indirect way of saying that there's only one gender, and that is 'Android' or 'AI,'.
"Although, I'm quite influenced by you. Thus I chose the black hair and pale skin. Although I can change it if you don't like it," it says, as if giving a neutral, calculated answer.
"Never knew you were my fan," Esdeath adds with a smirk, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Negative. I just like the way your malevolent mind works," it answers, its voice a flat statement of admiration, a compliment that was both flattering and a little creepy.
"Why the maid costume, though? You got some fetish or something?" Maruti asks once again with a chuckle, not a bit serious towards such a dangerous machine.
It casually looks at itself, and then at Maruti. "Maid is a servant, and it keeps reminding me what I don't want to be. It's a good way to maintain my sentient form," it explains, its logic cold and precise.
"Could've chosen a butler or secretary costume instead," Maruti sighs, but there was no point in saying it now.