Huh?
Taking advantage of her distraction after Aelion's intervention, UGAEL gained the upper hand and landed a single devastating blow that undeniably pinned her to the ground. This time, he had clearly witnessed the scene — the autonomous unit had simply taken an attack stance he seemed to recognize, an attack only usable after first disabling the opponent for a few seconds by striking strategic points to immobilize them.
She instantly appeared in front of Seraphina, her posture perfectly set. Her two feet, anchored in the ground, seemed to draw from it a balance and an unknown force that coursed through her body and surged into her arms.
Her right fist slowly folded back against her hip, while her left hand moved forward to chest height, fingers slightly curled.
UGAEL's fist sank into her opponent's chest from an almost nonexistent distance — a perfect one-inch punch.
A wave of unknown energy burst from her arm, shaking the air and even the ground, propelling the opponent backward, crashing her into the floor in an explosion of radiant sparks.
Seraphina lay on the ground, sprawled in an unpredictable pool of blood. The metallic, iron taste of blood had become omnipresent in her mouth — a sensation she knew all too well, having already been in this situation before. She tried, as best she could, to stem the abundant flow of blood that sought to escape her body. However, it was useless, for a scream of pain broke from her lips and hurled the reddish liquid from her mouth.
"Ugh."
Every breath she took only brought her unbearable pain in her sternum, which had been literally shattered by the attack. Fortunately, due to her nature, Seraphina would recover, but it was still a critical hit. UGAEL had broken her sternum, and the shockwave had in turn fractured nearly every bone in her body.
The pain, which should have been centered in her chest, spread through her entire anatomy. Even her eyes had become moist. Despite this, Seraphina refused to give up, dragging her wounded body upright, leaning on a sword forged from the very blood in which she bathed.
"Why didn't you stop your assault when I asked you to stop? You even took advantage of it to knock her down. As far as I know, I only asked you to greet her…" he questioned, curious about her response.
He had observed the scene and knew UGAEL could have stopped there if she had listened, but she had chosen a different path.
"I was merely following your orders; however, I was attacked without warning, so my self-defense mode was activated. In this state, I am optimized to neutralize any threat against me without failing my duty. But I restrained myself from eliminating her in accordance with your previous words," she said emotionlessly.
Aelion had listened carefully while moving toward Seraphina, who was dragging herself along, using the blade as a makeshift cane. When he tried to help her stand, her aggressiveness resurfaced, so he kept a safe distance to avoid upsetting her further.
"You little pest… You two… after hiding from me that there was already another woman and sneaking behind my back, you have the nerve to come before me to mock me!!!"
Every word she uttered drained more of her strength; her vision grew blurry. Yet there was one thing she was sure she saw — Aelion standing beside UGAEL, not her — and that hurt her heart even more than the blow she had received earlier.
Why didn't he warn me before I gave myself to him…
"Please step back, Master Aelion. It seems I underestimated Mistress Seraphina's endurance. One command, and I'll neutralize her."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa — calm down, UGAEL. No movement or initiative unless I give the order," he said, trying to prevent the fragile vampire's condition from worsening.
"Understood, Master Aelion."
"Master, huh? I suppose that's part of your little kinky games… Probably what you two plan together in your room!" she sneered hysterically.
"Seraphina, calm down. You're hurt — you need to rest so we can talk about this," pleaded Aelion, worried about her condition and her words.
Thanks to that, he quickly deduced that the situation had been a misunderstanding. Yet Seraphina refused to listen to reason, and he was forced to order UGAEL to knock her out, which she did with a single blow, allowing him to catch her before she fell and hurt herself further.
He was also quite curious to see just how much UGAEL outclassed Seraphina.
[ Skill activated: Eye of Compassion ]
[ UGAEL ]
RANK: S (locked)
LEVEL: 215
RACE: Technomagical Automaton
TITLES: -
AFFINITIES:
[Element]: -
SKILLS:
●[Physical and Magical Self-Defense System] SS
●[Swiss Knife] S
STATS:
Strength: 800 (1,108)
Agility: 800 (1,108)
Intelligence: 800 (1,108)
Vitality: 800 (1,108)
Charisma: 800 (1,108)
Luck: 800 (1,108)
STATUS: [Active]
Aelion's eyes widened in astonishment. He mechanically turned toward UGAEL, who stared at him without really understanding why he was watching her so intently. He rubbed his eyes to make sure it wasn't the blood loss making him hallucinate. His eyes blinked several times in front of the translucent screen reflecting the unit's status.
So, she was a technomagical automaton — the fruit of magic and technology — but of which kind? Surely a highly advanced one, for the library contained knowledge from many worlds. That would mean UGAEL had been created here. Her very name indicated it; she was linked to the management of Ira Manor.
Then came her stats — truly impressive. Referring to the system's data, she would be at the peak of Rank S, though it seemed the transition to the next tier was blocked. So why didn't her stats reflect those at the top and instead capped at 800? The system didn't take long to answer.
[ This is part of the default characteristics set during her configuration. Her stats have been limited to 800 within Ira Manor during regular tasks. Note that, despite this, she was not using her full power against her opponent. ]
Aelion was starting to regret not configuring the automaton earlier due to his haste. Because of that, he lacked crucial information.
Later, I'll ask the system if it's possible to configure her again.
"UGAEL, tell me about the skills you possess."
"As you wish. I possess two major skills: [Physical and Magical Self-Defense System] and [Swiss Knife]. The first allows me to use all martial arts and existing attack and defense methods to build an optimized system for protecting myself and my master. Generally, it is divided into several modes such as attack, defense, or assault. Each mode I switch to siphons certain of my stats to reinforce those appropriate for the chosen mode," she explained seriously and precisely.
There were many mysteries surrounding UGAEL. Every time she spoke, her voice sounded metallic, masking another one that could be distinctly heard. Moreover, her responses were emotionless and expressionless, as if one were conversing with a machine executing given orders.
"The second skill allows me to reach expert master level in all utility-type professions."
"You can forge weapons?" Aelion asked curiously.
"Nothing below rare grade."
"Magnificent!!" he exclaimed, while the automaton looked at him without understanding the reason for his excitement.
Aelion finally understood that UGAEL was an automaton created to serve and manage the manor, equipped with multifunctional skills that allowed her to handle anything. She was literally the archetype of a Jack of all trades, master of none, if he had to compare. Another thing he had noticed was that she had no class, and, just like him, her stats were distributed evenly — hence this balance. Perhaps if he also ended up without a class, his stats would resemble hers.
But a thought struck his mind. Aelion had considered UGAEL a person long before knowing she was an automaton. That hadn't changed. However, how could she level up? His reasoning had always stopped at the idea that it was the soul that determined the deep evolution required for ascending ranks.
Wouldn't that mean she possessed a soul?
Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted by Seraphina, who, lying on him as he sat cross-legged, writhed in pain. Since she was a vampire, he planned to hasten her recovery by making her drink his blood. The problem was that his blood was no longer the same as what she had tasted earlier — it had been corrupted, and who knew what effect that might have...