We Discovered the Filthy Remnants of Humanity, so… Part 1
Kou ultimately found himself seated in the command chair of the Astraea.
Since Astraea and Eunomia were perfectly synchronized, there was no need to relocate. In the command seat of Eunomia, Libya sat with Matt and Jialing beside her.
And then, the promised time arrived.
「Incoming transmission from Planet Libya.」
Despite the vast distance, thanks to quantum communication, there was no concept of time lag.
「Put it through,」
Kou said, his expression tense.
The transmission connected.
The feed revealed what appeared to be the inside of a Defense Dome. Overhead, a vast canopy was visible. It seemed a camera had been linked to the transmission—displaying the image of enormous legs.
Slowly, the view zoomed out, revealing it—the so-called Mythology Weapon. Its form resembled a Silhouette with attachments like the ones the Therianthrope form of Libya bore. Its armor gleamed with a golden radiance, exuding an aura of absolute authority.
It resembled the Murder Telkhines, but with a distinct difference—this one had a pair of enormous, wing-like structures extending from its back.
Its face bore a closer resemblance to a dragon, shaped like a Western-style helmet.
「A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Libya-sama. I am grateful for your presence too, humanity’s representative, Outis. I am Aural, of the Zmeu class—commander of the Phantasma Armament, the Mythology Weapons that safeguard humanity.」
A synthesized voice echoed through the transmission.
They had decided that Kou would act as Outis before the start of the communication. The names Outis and Odysseus had seemingly existed since the Interplanetary War era. Neither Asia nor Astraea had provided details on their origins, but according to Libya, they were convenient names when speaking with the Mythology Weapons.
「Did… the Silhouette just speak?」
「Calm down. If it has a speaker, it can output sound. It’s not impossible for a Silhouette to communicate.」
Matt whispered the explanation to a startled Jialing. Silhouettes rarely spoke, but they did possess both consciousness and the ability to converse.
「Nice to meet you, Aural—the golden dragon.」
Kou responded.
Almost instantly, Aimer sent over a reference note. Zmeu referred to a draconic being, while Aural was a word denoting gold.
「This is my first time speaking with you all like this. Apologies for the delay.」
Libya lowered her head apologetically. She had created them, yet had left them unattended all this time.
In truth, she wasn’t even aware of what actions they had taken in the interim.
「We are aware of Libya-sama’s circumstances at the time. However, while we were born from Silhouettes, we also possess the traits of Murders. Because of this, we cannot fully coexist with humanity.」
The mechanical dragon’s expression was unreadable.
It had a mouth, but there were no facial muscles to convey emotion. That, in itself, made communicating with it difficult.
「That said, we cannot go against the will of our creator, Libya-sama. The battles against enemy Mythology Weapons and their subordinate Murders only continue to escalate.」
「Is the balance of power evenly matched?」
「No. We are at a disadvantage. We have no way of knowing when and where our allies will be created, and even when new Mythology Weapons are created, it’s impossible to determine if they are friend or foe.」
「The planet has already been subjugated once…」
Even Asia had fallen under the Stones’ control.
Planet Libya had been the first to be invaded and conquered by the Stones.
「This planet, Libya, is the most unforgiving of the three. Not even the Familias can exist here. Do not blame Libya-sama for this.」
「I’m not blaming her. Asia suffered the same fate. The simultaneous assault by the Stones’ forces was overwhelming.」
「I apologize for my hasty assumption, Outis. So Planet Asia has also endured such devastation…」
「Don’t worry about it.」
「The Stones’ forces have already been eradicated from this planet. Our first objective has been accomplished.」
「You annihilated the Stones’ forces?!」
The words were spoken so casually, yet their meaning was utterly shocking. Kou couldn’t help but shout, repeating them in disbelief.
「Wait a minute. When you say annihilated… The Stones had spaceships, and thousands of Silhouettes and Murders, didn’t they?」
「We united as one to accomplish our initial objective. Do not underestimate the combat power of the Mythology Weapons.」
「That’s… incredible.」
Kou voiced his admiration—his genuine, unfiltered reaction.
「The Mythology Weapons were originally programmed to recognize the Stones and their forces as the primary enemy. However, after their defeat, our conflict evolved into a power struggle among ourselves—fighting over the surviving remnants of humanity. We were divided into three factions. Those who turned against humanity gained the authority to manufacture Murder units.」
「Three factions?」
「Yes. The first is us, Kryptos, the faction that sided with humanity. The second is Teras, those who became humanity’s enemies. And finally, there is Eidolon, a coalition of those who belong to neither side—independent groups or small factions acting according to their own judgment. This is the current state of planet Libya.」
Aimer quickly nodded and sent an explanatory note to Kou.
Kryptos—derived from mythology, meaning ‘those who conceal’. It made sense; they hid and protected humanity.
Teras—a term meaning ‘monsters’.
Eidolon—a word referring to ‘phantoms’ or ‘idealized images’.
「So after defeating the Stones, you fractured into different factions.」
「That’s correct. Some of us, as well as certain members of the third faction, still hold respect for Libya-sama. However, not all of our enemies do. Those Mythology Weapons that evolved from spaceships became far too powerful.」
「Spaceships turned into Mythology Weapons?」
Kou was at a loss for words, stunned by the unexpected revelation. Libya instinctively covered her face with her hands.
「Within Kryptos, there exist Mythology Weapons of immense scale—several hundred meters to multiple kilometers in size—such as the Garuda-class, Zilant-class, Kurikara-class, and Sekiryuu-class.」
As if to emphasize its point, Aural stomped its massive foot, sending a resounding tremor through the ground.
Kou and Astraea both turned their narrowed eyes toward Libya in silent reproach. Still covering her face, Libya merely shook her head repeatedly, refusing to acknowledge the implications.
「Does the enemy faction—Teras—possess such entities?」
「They do. The Fenrir-class, Yamata no Orochi-class, Vritra-class, Seth-class, and Fafnir-class, among others. Most bear the names of mythical beasts associated with destruction and chaos, particularly from Earth’s legends. Until the Stones were annihilated, we fought as allies, but now, we are locked in a silent standoff.」
「And what about Eidolon, the faction that remains neutral?」
「They have their own colossal types as well—Bahamut-class, Leviathan-class, Behemoth-class, Bastet-class, and more. Their stance remains inconsistent. Moreover, even spaceships that were destroyed in battle could potentially be reborn as Mythology Weapons. Their allegiance, however, will depend entirely on them.」
At that moment, Asia’s projection appeared behind Kou, she hunched down behind him as if seeking cover beneath his feet.
「I’m sorry, but… I don’t think we can win this.」
「Yeah… same here.」
The Mythology Weapons that had turned against humanity bore the names of legendary beings from Earth’s myths—beings said to be powerful enough to bring about the end of the world.
Could they really be countered with Silhouettes?
Kou found it impossible to believe they stood a real chance of victory.
「How did it come to this…?」
Libya, still in shock, had never anticipated that spaceships would transform into Mythology Weapons.
「This is the miracle wrought by the great Libya-sama—the creation of beings capable of rivaling spaceships themselves.」
Libya had spoken in regret, but Aural had interpreted it in an entirely different way, much to her bewilderment. He sounded nothing short of proud.
「I may not be of colossal-class size, but the Antique Silhouette that served as my origin was a Solone. I can handle a giant Murder on my own. I consider it an honor to have been among the first to be created.」
Asia stared silently at Libya.
She had never imagined that not only colossal Mythology Weapons, but also high-performance Silhouette-sized units had been brought into existence.
Libya hung her head, completely drained of energy.
She had clearly gone too far.
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