Back to Dr. Sullivan's research facility.
Thud. Thud. The giant monsters began to move. From boilers that poured boiling water from their bellies to display cases with bottles of unidentifiable liquids rattling inside, machines wielding threatening rotating tools like arms.
'This isn't too difficult.'
It was smaller than any dungeon so far, and even if it was difficult, it wasn't impossible to clear. The problem was when to clear it. Esperanza calmly pulled back. She pressed her back against the wall and put her eye to the scope.
From the front, step by step. So they couldn't approach.
Machines had no emotions. Unlike other monsters that felt pain or fear. So ordinary threats didn't work. Even if you cut off one arm, the speed of the other arm wouldn't decrease.
So she had to finish them off at once. She had no choice but to create a physical wall with the fallen machines.
Bang. The first shot pierced through the neck of the machine in the front row. At the same time, a sharp blade flew from the left. Esperanza, who tilted her head to avoid it, moved her gun barrel to the side and pierced the next neck.
To completely destroy the magic stone embedded in the back of the neck, she had to pour a considerable amount of magical power. The machines were solid, and magic stones that had been buried holding magical power for hundreds of thousands of years didn't break easily from ordinary impacts. Sweat poured down like rain.
Esperanza, who took out a potion from her inventory and poured it into her mouth, threw the empty bottle at the machine. The glass bottle shattered with a sharp sound. One corner of the machine broke off, but the machine's movement only slowed slightly.
There were still countless numbers left.
The wall behind her was a mess from bullets and randomly embedded weapons. Even while taking a deep breath and aiming again, weapons flew with the momentum to pierce vital points and embedded so deeply that their handles touched the wall. Tremendous force. Goosebumps rose on the back of her neck.
'Thank goodness the accuracy is low.'
It was only because about half missed, but if the accuracy had been just a little higher, she might have been hit several times already. It was really fortunate that Dr. Sullivan's weapons were nothing special. Esperanza touched the earlobe that the first weapon had grazed and lowered her body.
She poured the magical power that was surging up after drinking the potion into her rifle. Blue magical power formed at the tip of the golden barrel.
Prioritizing machines ready to attack, she knocked down the machines in front first. Each time necks burst and wrists flew off, the machines made eerie creaking sounds. Like living monsters screaming. Even the ear-scratching metallic sounds seemed to be part of the attack. Her body tilted slightly toward the right wall.
At that moment, a boiler machine that had jutted forward poured boiling water toward her.
Esperanza turned pale. That was hopeless with magical bullets. She'd have to properly block it, but just then a machine on the left wielding a large hammer also cast a shadow as it swung back and forth. There was nowhere to escape.
Hammer or boiling water. If she blocked, she could only block one of the two. But she couldn't judge either one.
In the brief moment when hot steam touched her cheek and the shadow of water covered her head, her combat-heated mind made only the decision to quickly escape this dungeon. For that, even some injury was bearable.
Just as the steaming water was about to pour over her head, Esperanza kicked off the wall and threw her body to the left, toward the hammer larger than herself. The hammer heavily struck the ground.
Boom! Stone fragments flew with the sound of the floor crumbling. For a moment, it seemed like the entire mansion shook.
"Ugh..."
Boiling water poured down in torrents. Steam rose from the thoroughly soaked floor, making the scope cloudy. Esperanza was holding the head of the knight who had swung the hammer under her arm. The back of her hand seemed to be swelling red.
Just getting splashed with droplets caused this much damage—if she had been properly hit by that, it would have been disaster. Esperanza, who clicked her tongue, climbed onto the headless knight's torso and surveyed the situation.
Before the clock in her head declared zero seconds, Esperanza, who had thrown her body toward the hammer, fired magical bullets in rapid succession at the small automaton holding the large hammer, even higher up. The knight's neck flew off. The moment Esperanza grabbed the bronze head, the hammer struck the ground. Boiling water that could melt iron poured over it next.
Esperanza, still standing on the knight, aimed her magical power at the back of the large boiler's neck. Bang! Despite the quick and crude aim, she confirmed that it accurately pierced the exact center of the thick neck and lowered her gun.
"Is it done?"
She muttered unconsciously while deflecting throwing weapons with the thin sword in one hand. And when the boiler that had stopped operating while standing showed no signs of movement, Esperanza began to rapidly destroy the magic stones in the backs of the machines' necks, weaving freely among them now that she had penetrated the enemy lines.
There was no excitement at all. Even while piercing the machines' vital points like a slaughtering machine, she hoped this work would end as quickly as possible.
The human entangled with machines leaped high and pierced from the machine's crown to the floor while airborne. The moment she landed, she spun her body widely to deflect tools and broke the wrist of a machine trying to stab with a heated iron like a skewer.
'There's no end to this.'
She wanted to move to another location now, but whether rumors were spreading among the machines, no matter how many monsters on the left corridor she knocked down, it didn't seem to end.
Esperanza gritted her teeth and struck a machine with her gun barrel. At this rate, it didn't seem like she could get out on time. She couldn't even hope for a moment's rest.
2:13. Esperanza, who checked the time with a side glance, swallowed hard.
'It's tight.'
It would depend on how long Cyrus could hold out, but as quickly as possible. Quickly... Impatience seemed to scratch down her throat. Esperanza's movements gradually quickened. A bit more crude than before but swiftly targeting the back of necks.
There weren't many monsters left in the left corridor now. Esperanza took a deep breath and concentrated magical power in her gun barrel. She focused on aiming at targets while kicking away weapons the machines thrust out.
The small crosshair aligned with the desired position, and the bullet filled with magical power was about to exit the barrel.
The internal components of the boiler that had stopped operating began to turn. The boiler machine turned direction. The boiling water filling its large belly poured down right overhead. When Esperanza, who had been frantically aiming at the back of the monster's neck, realized this fact, the monster was already pouring water.
Boom!
Esperanza, who quickly rolled her body, felt dull pain in her shoulder. Hot water pooled at her feet knocked against her shoes. Her head was dizzy.
She felt as if someone in her head was shouting 'Dodge!' But the monster was faster than her movement. Her body was pushed back as if shoved and hit the display case she had been leaning against. Along with the stinging pain in her shoulder, chemicals that had flowed down from the half-open display case door dropped onto her arm.
Esperanza gripped her arm at the pain that seemed to stab deep inside her skin. But when she got up, it was already too late. Though it looked fine on the outside... Esperanza, who bent and straightened her arm ignoring the pain, got up with a grimace.
Still, there was no choice.
The next moment, Esperanza threw the bead bomb toward the front corridor.
The bomb that fell among the monsters exploded. Bang, bang, the sound that painfully struck the ears and the heat were considerable. While the attacks stopped momentarily, Esperanza completely blew up the neck of the boiler machine that was filling with water and boiling again.
Standing on the shattered bronze, Esperanza raised her gun again. She could feel magical power rapidly draining from her body following the indiscriminate gunfire.
[Dungeon boss, '???' has appeared!]
[The boss's location is marked on the map.]
The status window she had been ignoring blinked frantically. Esperanza's gaze turned to the clock attached next to the status window. Her vision went white.
2:34.
Time had passed too quickly. At this rate, she might really be late. She couldn't see that miserable sight she had witnessed on the ship again.
At other times, she might have enjoyed battles with various mechanical monsters. But now she felt no excitement at all. She just wanted to quickly finish and rush out of this dungeon. She wanted to confirm with her own eyes that Cider was okay.
'For that, the boss first.'
Esperanza led her aching body and ran to the room where the boss was according to the map.
Before opening the door, Esperanza reviewed the dungeon's characteristics.
The boss monster would be a machine like the other monsters. Probably the most powerful and solid machine in here. If the spacetime machine had been in this mansion, she might have encountered it as the boss. Should she be thankful that such a terrible thing didn't happen?
But given the danger level, whatever else came out would certainly be formidable. While turning the doorknob, she checked the status window once more. The boss monster had no name. It seemed to be an unknown machine.
Esperanza, who re-gripped her rifle, opened the door.
It was an empty room without a single piece of furniture. It was full of machines and tool boxes whose identity she couldn't even guess.
Esperanza's gaze turned to the boss monster in the center of the room. The machine, which seemed to be made of a different metal rather than ordinary bronze, had its interior exposed as if Dr. Sullivan had taken it apart. There was almost no sound of parts colliding. Even to an outsider's eyes, it was craftsmanship close to a masterpiece.
"Did Sullivan make something like that too?"
Esperanza wasn't very interested in Dr. Sullivan's inventions, but the machine's smooth movement kept catching her eye. Simple but not crude, with all connection points flowing as naturally as water. Like clothes without visible stitching. Even his inventions she had seen thirteen years later didn't seem to have such high completion.
While maintaining vigilance and examining the exposed internal structure, Esperanza exclaimed.
'Sullivan didn't make this.'
She didn't know why it was here, but it seemed certain that the creator of this mysterious machine was Cider. The precision of the circuits and high completion level weren't at a level that could come from Sullivan's hands, and above all.
Cider Claiborne's signature stamped on what was presumed to be the side of the giant machine. It was definitive proof.