Chapter 151
“Do you not see it, my creation?” Hermann said as he moved through the white hallway. He couldn’t walk, so he was carried forward by a hovering wheelchair.
Z357 followed, striding alongside his creator. His face looked forward, but his eyes darted around in every direction. He looked beyond the corridors. His gaze expanded throughout the megastructure. He peered into the white hallways, before scouring the rest of the supercity.
It was a megalopolis built around another megalopolis. Flying cars zipped across the sky, and ultrafast trains shot through tunnels that formed a complex network between all the major structures of this hyper advanced city.
But while Z357 could see the smiling faces— he could hear the bustling voices— his focus was pointed elsewhere, towards a figure floating high in the sky. Arms-crossed, and with a cape blowing in the wind, the figure protectively hovered there. Until a powerful explosion rocked the center of the city.
A needle-like building that rose to the sky and reached the fringes of space stood there. It was a space elevator. The blast rocked the base of its structure, but it didn’t topple over. It stood tall, and the figure immediately shot forward, rushing to aid the screaming citizens gathered there.
Hermann shook his head as he pulled up a holographic screen. An image of the destruction revealed itself to Z357’s creator.
“Every single day, these terrible disasters strike Askan,” Hermann said as his gaze darkened. “Like clockwork, tens of thousands across the world die senselessly, all because of them.”
The screen focused on the caped figure as he descended from the sky. Before him, a cackling woman waited, wearing a face full of paint as she spread her arms wide. Even more explosions filled the scene as Z357 looked on. A battle played out.
But it was not the only one Hermann showed. He spread his arms wide as screen after screen flashed into existence. Scenes from all across the planet— that of death and destruction.
And Z357 saw it all.
A four-eyed woman exploded from the ground, screaming as she unleashed a beam of laser from her mouth. Her anger focused only on a single target. A man dressed in a suit of glowing armor. He deflected her attack as the nearby onlookers screamed and ran away.
“These Superheroes and Supervillains run wild, playing their accursed games of cat and mouse,” Hermann continued, gritting his teeth. “Just because they were granted special powers from their birth… just because they were bestowed mutations that let them carry out superhuman feats…”
A giant leapt through a floating city. He ripped through buildings, screaming as he fled from a pair of winged twins. They gave chase, sending purple bolts of energy out to apprehend him. But he managed to slink away.
Hermann tried to rise to his feet as he exclaimed, “It is utterly ridiculous! These people endanger our lives, yet we are supposed to celebrate them? They have ruined our utopian society—”
Z357 watched as his creator collapsed to the ground, unable to stand on two feet. Hermann groaned as he lay there, his eyes flashing in anger.
“This is why you were created, Z357,” he said as he looked towards the machine. “To destroy all Superheroes. To destroy all Supervillains. To protect our world.”
Mechanically, Z357 nodded. He took in his directive, before spreading his wings wide. And without a single word, he took off into the sky.
—--
Guardian Angel Z357 blinked all twelve of his eyes as he stared at the Hammer of Justice, returning back to reality— the memories fading away. The superweapon floated there, carried by a pillar of light— a beam of antigravity that let it hover in place. And up above, high in the sky, was the construct. It was finally complete, created by the Hammer of Justice.
The wait was over, and now, the angel could act. Yet, he stood there, in the ruins of the golden palace of Novus, unmoving. Behind him, a lumbering figure stirred.
Grat-ra’zun, one of the last Elder Dragons in the world, rose up with a questioning look on his face.
“What happens now?” he asked as he peered at the angel. “What shall you do, sentinel of the System?”
Z357 raised his head. He held the dragon’s gaze, before spreading his wings wide. He floated up to the Hammer of Justice and paused right before the superweapon. He remembered the death. He recalled the destruction. For a moment, he hesitated.
Right now, the machine had a choice to make. There was a decision for him to follow-through with. He had been given directives by the World System— directives which he had disobeyed numerous times now. Each time he had acted autonomously, he had only exacerbated the problem of the Void.
He even had nearly allowed the Fal-Deus to return to life. It had all been Z357’s mistakes that led to those outcomes. Because he had miscalculated. Because he had acted autonomously.
Because he disobeyed the World System.
So the choice should have been obvious. Guardian Angel Z357 should have known what his decision should be. But he didn’t lay a hand on the Hammer of Justice. Instead, he apprehensively hovered there as Grat-ra’zun spoke up once more.
“What do you intend to do, sentinel of the System?”
It was a simple question. The Elder Dragon had given the same query multiple times now. But the machine refused to give an answer.
Instead, Guardian Angel Z357 looked down into the palm of his mechanical hands. He knew what he should do, but he recalled the devastation that could be wrought from the Hammer of Justice. It made him pause. It made him think— was this really worth it?
Especially when he recalled the words of Amelia. The time he spent working at Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant had been relatively short, but it had been impactful. Seeing the brown-haired human’s overwhelming power had been… enlightening.
He closed his twelve eyes, remembering what she had said after she had defeated the Void-possessed Lich King.
“If the Voidgod shows up, I’ll just smack him back into the Fractured Realm. It’s not a big deal, alright?”
If anyone else had uttered those words, Guardian Angel Z357 would have dismissed them without thought. However, he had seen firsthand her immense strength. And somehow, he didn’t doubt her in the slightest.
So why should he interfere if she could defeat the Fal-Deus with ease? There was no reason for the machine to obey his directives. He could neglect his duties, returning back to his slumber in the orbit of Planet 16B.
But each time he considered deactivating himself— to let Amelia deal with the Void— he was reminded of his duties by the World System. Even right now, a blue box flashed before his vision, despite his eyes being slammed shut.
[Main Objective: Halt the Return of the Fal-Deus
Threat Level: Planetary Cataclysm(?)*
*Tentative
Reward: Promotion]
Unlike before, where Guardian Angel Z357 had been strung along by a series of Minor Objectives, he had finally been bestowed with a Major Objective by the World System. It was thanks to his conversations with Grat-ra’zun.
The Elder Dragon had proven to be incredibly useful, providing a wealth of information to the angel. Now, Z357 knew of the [Hero King]’s status as the Void’s Heir. And the World System updated his directives immediately.
Now, the machine had to make a decision. But he did not know what to do. He reflected on his actions here in Vacuos— the things he did ever since he had become a Guardian Angel. Everything he had done that led to this moment.
And even before that. Back when he was still in Askan. Back in his home world. Before he had ever known of the World System. The things he did. Every order he had been given by his creator, he had followed them all. Except for when…
“I am your creator! Don’t you dare disobey me—”
Never once, Guardian Angel Z357 suddenly said as he raised his head. His words drew the attention of the watching Elder Dragon, and he reached for the Hammer of Justice. Never once have I ever felt grief, before I disobeyed my orders for the very first time.
Grat-ra’zun tilted his head curiously. And the machine grabbed the weapon.
I was never designed to feel emotions. I was designed to follow orders. But on that day, I went beyond my programming. I became something more.
Guardian Angel Z357 continued speaking as he held onto the Hammer of Justice. He watched as its face began to shift, before shining with the outline of a brilliant crimson glow.
And the construct floating high above shifted. It was a structure of sorts. Like a station. It floated there, beyond the planet’s atmosphere. It opened up as figures moved within.
Grat-ra’zun narrowed his eyes as the angel slowly turned around. Twelve lifeless eyes stared back at the Elder Dragon. The machine spoke with melancholy in his thoughts.
But I regret becoming something more. I regret what I have become. Each passing day that goes by, I desire to return to what I was. To become unthinking once more.
And the figures descended from the space station. They numbered in the hundreds. Ghastly beings. Almost like they were made from a gray mist. But in truth, they were created from the very same construct that made the space station.
They were nanomachines. They came together to create these beings. However, they were instilled with the essence of something more. The essence of who they were meant to be.
“These are…?” Grat-ra’zun watched as the figures soared through the sky. They flew in every direction, spreading out throughout Planet 16B. “Where are they going? What are they?”
Titanborn. Man of Mech. Warlady. Goliath. Guardian Angel Z357 raised his head, naming each figure that passed overhead. Familiar figures— a caped man, a cyborg, a four-eyed lady, and a giant. But there were so many more of them. Too many to name.
The machine watched as the mechanical ghosts of Superheroes and Supervillains of Askan appeared here in Vacuos. And now, they made their way across the sea, silently obeying the orders Z357 had given them.
They are merely phantoms, he answered the dragon’s question as he began to ascend out of the ruins of the golden palace. Copies of those I had felled, created by the genius of my creator.
“Where are they going?” the Elder Dragon asked with a frown.
And in the distance, Guardian Angel Z357 heard the screams. He saw the ghost of the Supers crashing through buildings, ripping their way through cities in search of their targets. And there were many targets to find.
A [Mayor] scrambled back into his home, shouting and tightly clutching onto a ring as the replica of Warlady loomed over him. Her mouth hung open, before a beam of red light shot out. And he raised the ring, creating a purple sphere. The attack clashed with the barrier— a concentrated laser that burned as hot as the surface of the sun struck the sphere of Void essence.
And the attack tore straight through the barrier, incinerating the [Mayor] in an instant. But it wasn’t over. Because he wasn’t the only one who was being targeted.
All across Planet 16B, members of the Sect of Abyssal Thorns were hunted down by these phantoms. They tried to flee— they tried to hide. But it didn’t matter.
The nanomachines could not think. Even if it meant leveling a house and killing a dozen innocents, they would find their targets. So the members of the Sect of Abyssal Thorns could only try and fight back.
They are going to purge this planet of the plague that has taken hold, Guardian Angel Z357 answered the Elder Dragon’s question.
“Purge…? Wait, you don’t mean—” His eyes went wide in horror, realizing what was going on. “But how would you know who has been touched by the Void, and who is not?”
They will figure it out by force, the machine replied simply as he rose from the sea, his gaze focused on a country in the distance. As for me…
Z357 stared at the Kingdom of Kal. His grip on the Hammer of Justice tightened, and he closed his eyes. Grat-ra’zun opened his mouth, but was abruptly cut off.
I shall do what needs to be done, the machine finished, before taking off to complete his task at hand.
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