I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 84: Meeting Gaia Was the Worst 2

-Crack!

Black and white swords clashed swiftly.

Around Gaia, decayed branches spread out like thorns and simultaneously shot toward Alice.

The underground base of Earnest Rail, which had maintained a relatively clean state, began to descend into chaos in an instant.

【Internal power activation】

【Perception time acceleration】

【Combat neural network overheating initiated】

【Energy remaining 80…70…50…30…10..!】

【Code liberation energy extraction】

【Combat mobility reactivation】

【Additional neural activation】

【Energy remaining 40…30…20…】

【Code liberation energy re-extraction!】

-Sizzle!

Alice felt her head heating up.

Theresa consumed all the energy embedded in her body to activate combat mode and simultaneously recharged the insufficient energy by continuously drawing from Rosa’s code energy.

The neural networks of her arms and legs overheated, increasing her speed, while the reflex nerve system along her spine reacted faster than the blink of an eye.

Her vision became sharper, her accelerated perception slowed time, and the Mantis Blades, forged from the fragments of the Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword, spun violently, ready to cut through anything.

-Crunch!

[“Al, li, ce, uh…!!!”]

Even with her body reinforced to such an extent, it was hard to withstand the sheer force of Gaia’s overwhelming attacks.

It was a completely different level from when they faced each other at the Green Factory.

Letting out bizarre screams, hundreds, no, thousands of branches devoured walls and ceilings as they charged toward Alice.

【Human, do not come into contact with the branches! Even inorganic materials are presumed to have their energy absorbed!】

“I know that!”

Alice, with her neural network pushed to its maximum, twisted her body to dodge the branches.

In mere moments, over a hundred branches aimed to impale her.

The branches pierced into even metallic or inorganic materials, oxidizing them in real time or causing visible rust.

This was evidence that Alice would not be safe if she came into contact with them.

-Slash!

Fortunately, the Holy Sword and the Demonic Sword’s power could repel the approaching branches.

The problem was that Gaia’s branches moved freely like octopus tentacles, advancing from all directions, their numbers so overwhelming they filled Alice’s entire field of vision.

The corridor had already collapsed.

Several levels of the underground facility crumbled simultaneously, causing the very ground to start caving in.

Alice sprinted down the collapsing corridor at full speed, twisting her body as she slashed and evaded the branches chasing her from all directions.

But no matter how many she cut down, new branches sprouted, surging toward her like waves.

“Damn it, there’s no end to this…!”

【Activating magnetic field】

“Nice one, Theresa!”

Alice stepped back.

The collapsing ground and staircases rendered standing still meaningless.

Magnetic fields formed from the mechanical tendrils attached to her spine, allowing her to float through the air using the abundance of metal plates, corridors, and staircase structures around her.

-Thud!

“Ugh!”

Even so, Alice had no room for reprieve.

She had to evade and cut down all the branches sprouting from the ceiling, the floor, the front, and the corridors.

In the scant seconds she had, Theresa predicted all of Gaia’s attack trajectories and marked them in red on Alice’s vision.

【Reapplying combat manual knowledge】

【Forcing activation of basic mana refinement techniques】

【Sharing Main System side effects】

Theresa force-fed combat manuals and all useful information directly into Alice’s memory in real time.

As more combat knowledge and data accumulated, Alice’s movements grew increasingly precise.

By the narrowest margins, she dodged all of Gaia’s attacks, and the Mantis Blades sliced through the branches in their path.

‘Damn it. If it weren’t for that bastard Rosa, I’d really be screwed…!’

If not for the combat knowledge absorbed from Rosa Vintz and the abilities stolen from him, Alice would not have been able to respond so adeptly to Gaia’s relentless assault.

By now, even from the ground where Alice stood, Gaia’s branches began to protrude.

The mechanical tendrils imbued with the magnetic field lifted Alice’s body, allowing her to float freely as if swimming in the air, thanks to the metal scattered throughout the underground facility.

[“Al, li, ceee, uh!!”]

Gaia roared in rage at Alice, who kept resisting.

Why won’t you come to me?

I want you so badly.

You should have given up and come to me by now.

I’m this angry—just give up and let yourself be torn apart and fall into my arms!!!

There was no longer a glimmer of reason in Gaia’s flipped eyes. She couldn’t even convey her true feelings to Alice.

Of course, that was fortunate for Alice.

If Gaia still had reason, she would think more like a human and adopt proper countermeasures to Alice’s actions, making her far more dangerous.

With her reason and composure gone, Gaia’s attacks became increasingly chaotic, worsening as time went on.

Meanwhile, though Alice continued to consume a massive amount of energy endlessly, she was becoming more adept at countering Gaia’s attacks.

[“Aliiiceee!!!”]

Now was the moment.

Alice did not miss the instant when Gaia’s main body became exposed and defenseless as she let out a piercing scream.

A massive energy began to gather in both of Alice’s hands.

Though her internal energy was being drained in real time, there would be no better chance than this.

【Liquefied Breath】

【Dragonia Shock】

No, it’s not enough.

Alice instinctively realized it.

She knew that both Liquefied Breath and Dragonia Shock were powerful techniques.

But they wouldn’t suffice.

Gaia, who had drained forests, countless humans, and even Overseers, wouldn’t be subdued with just one breath attack. Such expectations had to be discarded long ago.

Resolving herself, Alice began leaping over the crumbling stairs again.

[“Aliceee!!! Don’t leeeeave!!!”]

Seeing Alice moving further away, Gaia began shedding dark, bloody tears and gave chase on all fours, like a beast.

Gaia, now resembling Alice in form but covered in countless branches, bounded forward with an eerie gait that was downright grotesque.

However, her speed was beyond grotesque—it was terrifying.

-Boom! Boom! Booooom!

“Ugh, damn it…!”

Alice involuntarily spat out curses as she swung her Mantis Blades at the collapsing corridor and stairs.

The branches chasing her were severed alongside the corridor, accelerating the collapse of the falling structure.

【Activating Combined Authority】

As soon as Alice slipped through the collapsing stairs and walls, the disintegrating structures were fused back together. Yet Gaia, like a wild boar, plowed through them and continued her relentless pursuit.

Right, I figured that collapsing walls or corridors wouldn’t stop this calamity. But it seems even minor tricks have no effect at all.

‘Fine, keep chasing me. Just keep chasing.’

Alice smirked as she looked at the crumbling facility.

This was an underground facility.

The massive underground complex of Earnest Rail’s Mega Corp.

A place filled with all sorts of power sources, electricity, and mana generators, spread across every floor and room.

Now that the place was collapsing, the immense energy began dispersing in all directions. Alice intentionally led Gaia into this destruction, guiding the facility’s downfall.

【Energy level: 45….31.1.52.53.2.51.768.352….325.7 Unable to measure】

The energy spilling out charged into Alice’s body in real time before discharging again. Some of it was used to accelerate her movements, leaving Theresa unable to precisely measure Alice’s internal energy levels.

-Boooom!!!

[“Al, liceee!!”]

“Damn it, what did I even do for you to chase me like this?!”

[“Come here, come hereee!!!”]

A proper conversation with Gaia was already impossible, but in that moment of irritation and fury, Alice absorbed the energy leaking from the collapsing stairs and prepared herself for the right timing.

【Sub-level 29, the deepest point!】

-Crunch!!!

At that moment, black branches erupted from all directions in the deepest part where Alice had dashed forward.

Unable to contain her rage, Gaia unleashed her power, attempting to pierce through and collapse Earnest Rail’s entire underground facility, including its deepest section, with her branches.

“Hah…! What kind of monster is this, seriously?”

But Alice smirked.

Thanks to the energy pouring out from the collapsing underground facility, her body felt completely revitalized.

The sheer amount of energy caused her body to overheat and electric discharges to escape in random places, as if she were burning, but now, at this final juncture, Alice was finally ready.

-BOOOOM!!!!!

[“Kiii, heehee, hiiihiiihii!!!”]

As the facility crumbled, Gaia plummeted straight toward Alice.

Thousands, tens of thousands of branches connected to her devoured the staircases all at once, piercing through everything in every direction. Alice generated a magnetic field and swam through the air, falling further below.

What lay beneath the collapsed facility was not a floor.

It was an endless underground void embedded with patches of obsidian. Alice’s eyes glinted as she faced Gaia, who was also falling toward her.

“Now there’s nowhere left for you to run.”

With the collapse of the facility and staircases, Gaia had no space left to maneuver.

Currently, Gaia, having lost all reason, was recklessly breaking apart staircases and extending branches, mindlessly pursuing only Alice.

Now Gaia would have no choice but to fall helplessly through the void.

However, if it were Gaia, she would undoubtedly crawl back out even after being smashed into the mantle.

Finishing her thought, Alice decided it was time to put the energy from the collapsed staircases to good use.

“I was a Demon King, after all…!”

【Deploying Magic Array】

【Mana Domain Confirmed】

【Mana Insufficient, Substituting with Energy】

“This calls for something special!!!”

[“!?”]

Sensing the danger instinctively, Gaia’s face twisted.

Alice began to sketch in her mind.

Countless pieces of magical knowledge embedded in her mind.

Memories etched in her soul and the instinctive manifestations of magic.

The process.

The knowledge.

She converted the process to use energy instead of mana.

“I’m not planning to accept anyone’s proposals yet, and obsession isn’t exactly my favorite tag.”

Ah, this feels good.

This is it.

This is what it means to have traces and memories of being a Demon King.

Alice extended her hand toward the falling Gaia.

The countless mechanical tendrils protruding from her spine ceased maintaining the magnetic field. From the hands of the tendrils, various magic arrays painted the air, crafting the spell Alice envisioned.

【Liquefied Breath】

【Dragonia Shock】

【Earth Slayer】

【Catacomb Barrier】

【Gluttony Boundary】

【Penta Casting】

【Casting Complete】

“So, now disappear.”

Alice’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she aimed her gaze at Gaia.

-BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!