Clockwork Bride

Page 151

Bronze is normally an alloy of pure copper and other metals, a mixture. However, Olympian bronze is different. It is a pure bronze that should not exist, an inconceivable substance that people can only see in dreams—it is not copper, not tin, not lead.

It's just bronze, pure bronze, a substance whose concept of "bronze" is separated out.

This sounds like utter nonsense, but magic is often like that. In ancient times, in the first centuries, the Elder Gods and Giants were the first to use it to forge their weapons. The modern gods of the Mars Group use it even more extensively and effectively, crafting complete sets of divine weapons and armor to slay monsters and demons.

After Karen paid for Hayden's Olympian bronze, she finally couldn't resist her curiosity and sent him a message asking what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Hayden replied with a text message:

[Forge the sword!]

Hayden wants to forge a sword!

He had made scepters and bracelets for himself, but never a magic sword. Moreover, what he was about to make was likely to be the most powerful classical magic sword in the world. Such a challenge was naturally incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, he has two excellent and powerful mentors who will impart their wisdom and knowledge to him and guide him.

Hayden's thirst for knowledge and his transcendental intuition for truth were the powerful weapons that propelled this ordinary man to the top of his class in university.

"This is a precious sword, the sharpest of the four elemental artifacts. It is 'destruction,' 'attack,' and 'decomposition.' In other words, it is a power of judgment. It will directly attack and destroy the impurities in things."

Professor Albion recounted to Hayden the ancient and mysterious high magic rituals.

"Its hilt should be made of bronze, and its guard should be two crescent moons, one above the other and back to back. As for the blade, it should be straight and sharp, and made of steel."

These were things that Hayden had never studied, and only knew a few fragments of.

"There is a reason for this design. First, the steel blade represents the power of Mars, because iron is the metal of Mars. It will attack, destroy, and decompose, and is the main part of the sword—how can there be a sword without a blade? But a sword is a double-edged sword. If it only has the destructive power of Mars, it will bring the worry of injuring itself."

"Therefore, the hilt was forged from bronze, representing 'Venus' and 'love.' For love is the motive for this destructive force. To wield a steel blade with a bronze hilt is not for destruction, but for building something new while destroying the old. At the same time, the planets Mars and Venus respectively symbolize masculinity and femininity, reason and intuition, physicality and spirituality, the valiant male warrior and the prophetic female priest—representing two different forces."

"This is the highest and simplest secret of this sword. The 'Sword Formula' that drives destructive power with love."

For the first time in many years, Hayden was once again taught by Professor Albion, re-examining his own understanding of magic. Under the old professor's guidance, Hayden began to integrate the energy he was already familiar with—Angela's Secret Fire—into these two extraterrestrial materials, fusing them into a profound magic that even the modern capitalist gods had never comprehended.

He had to do all of these things himself, and there was so much to learn... However, Hayden was still deeply immersed in it.

Heating, forging, folding, shaping to the correct form.

Three days later, early in the morning, when Professor Albion entered Hayden's workshop again, Hayden was holding a pair of pliers in one hand and hammering the red-hot blade with a hammer in the other. A large fireball hovered in mid-air, and Hayden was placing the sword inside the fireball to heat it up.

As soon as the hammer fell, an astonishing number of sparks immediately flew in all directions, some even landing at the professor's feet in the distance.

"very nice."

Professor Albion glanced at the sword that had already taken shape in Hayden's hand and asked happily, "Do you need any help?"

Hayden shook his head: "Actually, I've already got it all done. Only the last step remains."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled the red-hot sword out of the fireball, held it with pliers, and handed it to Angela.

This action looks a bit scary, doesn't it? Fortunately, Angela is a mechanical doll, so she doesn't have any problems with being afraid of getting burned.

"I can only give this sword a physical form. Only you can infuse it with life and words."

Hayden said so.

No matter how expensive the materials he used or how profound the guidance Professor Albion gave him, this sword can only be considered a relatively excellent magical weapon at present.

In terms of resources, how could Hayden possibly win against capitalists? In terms of technology, even Professor Albion couldn't beat the world-controlling corporations.

Only Angela can bring things that don't belong to this world.

Therefore, Hayden said, "Angela, I'm counting on you."

Angela loves hearing that.

So she smiled slightly and began to sing:

"World, listen to me,"

"Write down my words, and let them become the law that lasts forever!"

This was a situation that even Hayden hadn't anticipated.

The moment Angela uttered those words, Hayden sensed it. But he couldn't explain what he felt, he couldn't comprehend what he saw, because it was far too immense for Hayden to contain in his consciousness, its formless shape indescribable. It was stranger than any magic Hayden knew; almost everything about it was incomprehensible, except for its strangeness and the power it possessed.

indescribable

It was awe and terror that transcended logic, sending a chill down Hayden's spine.

Meanwhile, Angela's singing continued.

"For this I was born, for this I came into the world, to bear witness to this truth. All who are truthful, hear my words!"

"Believe it, believe that you have never lost anything!"

You will never lose what you once loved and fought for!

Believe! Believe that your life is not in vain!

"Your sacrifices and suffering were not in vain!"

"What is born must perish."

"Why can't things that have been destroyed be resurrected?"

"Pain, you permeate everything, yet I will shatter your chains!"

"O death, you are supreme over all things, yet I will make you submit to love!"

"Do not be afraid, embrace the new life!"

Her singing voice flowed from her mouth like a sharp sword, lively and agile, capable of piercing and dissecting even the soul, and discerning even the thoughts and will in one's heart.

The song, like a blade, etched itself onto the sword Hayden handed her, leaving behind a tiny incantation: 【atehgiborle-olamadonai】.

Hayden couldn't understand the incantation.

Professor Albion, however, understood it. It meant "the power of God forever."

Just like quenching or cooling a sword, the sword emitted a hazy steam.

Then, Angela smiled and handed the sword back to Hayden.

Although the sword had just been heated, Hayden felt absolutely no heat from it. Not only was it not hot, it felt icy cold. The moment Hayden gripped the hilt, he felt the sword vibrate, as if wind and fire were flowing within it.

"An incredible weapon."

Even Professor Albion couldn't help but exclaim in admiration upon seeing this scene.

Before Hayden could answer, Angela shook her head and said, "This is not a weapon, it's a scalpel."

...Uh, a scalpel?

Hayden was taken aback, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that what he said was indeed true.

This is a scalpel that can pierce and dissect even the soul, removing the lesions in the heart.

"To complete an instrument of this caliber, you can't just make its form; you also have to name it. You have to give your ideas a concrete symbol."

Professor Albion watched the spectacle with great interest, offering new suggestions along the way.

Hayden certainly understood this principle. The idea that names bring power is fundamental to many magical theories. In other words, if a name is chosen carelessly, even a powerful artifact will become less effective.

That being said, good names are not easy to come up with.

"You only get one chance to choose a name. Anyway, there's no rush to use it now. You can choose a name when you first need it."

So Hayden simply put the sword away. He raised the sword and swung it against the wind, and saw it quickly shrink to the size of a needle. Then Hayden put it in his mouth and hid it under his tongue.

Why do this? Because it is words, song, thought, and breath. Such a sword should naturally be kept in the mouth, hidden under the tongue.

To be honest, Hayden felt a sense of dread about the sword's power. Like its sharp words, such a weapon was probably not to be used carelessly.

"Name it the first time you use it?"

Professor Albion seemed somewhat surprised to hear this.

"Weren't you in a hurry to use it to revive Alastor?"

“I’m not that stupid.” Hayden immediately shook his head. “If we separate his soul from the ley line spirit now, wouldn’t Alastor die immediately? His body has already been destroyed, so even if we directly infuse him with life force, it’s not safe. This sword is only one of the necessary components for his resurrection, not the whole thing.”

Otherwise, why was Hayden so concerned about Smoke Mirror's virtual streamer idol technology before?

"That's true, but as you said before, Professor, it would be foolish to simply take the technology from big companies and use it whole, especially if you wanted to use it to save lives. Companies don't invent these technologies to save lives; they invent them to make money in Yong'anli."

Hayden gave a wry smile as he said this.

Because he had already figured out what he was going to do next in the past few days. Sadly, what he was going to do was only slightly better than what those capitalists did.

"The technology of the virtual streamer idol from Smoke Mirror Company is only one of the components needed for revival, not the whole thing. So I need to first determine, and then conduct... a few more experiments."

Professor Albion blinked and immediately understood: "You need to continue experimenting with the [Magical Girl Pazuzu] that the Smoke Mirror Company gave you, to verify the effects and determine whether a true resurrection can be achieved."

In other words, to put it bluntly, it means conducting human experiments.

Of course, little Pania is obsessed with climbing the social ladder, rising above others to become a god, get rich, live in a big house, and eat steak. She'd be willing to risk her life to climb the social ladder, and even if Hayden told her it was for human experimentation, she'd probably agree. Because the Smoke Mirror Company's current virtual idol technology is a ritual of creating gods through corpse dissection. If Hayden actually completes the resurrection technology, he'll essentially turn someone into a new god, which undoubtedly elevates their social standing.

Panya would definitely agree to be used as a human experiment by Hayden.

...But how is this any different from what capitalists do? Don't they also know how to use small favors and wealth to lure those hard-working people and make their employees risk their lives?

So no matter how you look at it, Hayden was actually a little uncomfortable.

But this is something that has to be done.

He wants to develop magical technology to overcome death!

166: The female livestreamer has mild addiction.

Working day

Nine in the morning

Working hours

Pania is currently in physical form at the Qiqimiti Entertainment Company in the physical world, nervously and obediently waiting for Hayden to tell her what to do.

Mikkuru handed over the management of [Magical Girl Pazuzu] to Hayden.

What does this mean?

This means that, to some extent, Miktikashiva has already abandoned her. She doesn't intend to form a new virtual idol group centered around "Magical Girl Pazuzu," but rather to create something entirely new from scratch. In other words, she feels that the "Magical Girl Pazuzu" project is no longer of much use.

Ultimately, Goddess Micket isn't in a rush to make a quick buck from virtual idol streamers. She wants to use this new technology to develop a truly usable method for creating gods through corpse dissection. Therefore, in Goddess Micket's eyes, [Magical Girl Pazuzu], who has already suffered a public defeat and even become a laughingstock, isn't that important.

That being said, she didn't intend to simply replace Panya, the person inside her, with a cloned brain and a chip. On one hand, Goddess Micket felt that Hayden seemed to like Panya quite a bit, so it wasn't convenient to replace her directly; on the other hand, if Hayden actually achieved something with [Magical Girl Pazuzu], Goddess Micket could also get a share of the profits.

This is a very profitable deal. Smoke Mirror Company can't completely abandon Magical Girl Pazuzu, but wouldn't it be even better if Hayden could help them cultivate her?

Panya wasn't stupid, so she knew perfectly well that she had actually been abandoned by her vampire boss. If you're talking about anger, then of course she was furious; and if you're talking about resentment, Panya did harbor some resentment towards Hayden for pulling her back at the last crucial moment.

However, she's not stupid.

Now that things have come to this, it's useless for Hayden to stop her from risking her life last time. If Pania still wants to ascend to become a God-Maker, then she has no choice but to work hard alongside Hayden!

After all, having hope is always better than despair!

Furthermore, Pania thought it over carefully and realized that having Uncle Hayden as her boss was far better than having a vampire as her boss. Even if [Magical Girl Pazuzu] failed to become a god, perhaps she could earn some savings by being Hayden's lover or doing fatherly work, and maybe even become rich!

Pania is always optimistic.

"Uncle! From now on, I'm leaving all my livestreaming plans to you!"

Her little head is always full of dreams and hopes!

Unfortunately, Hayden, this thirty-year-old man, never had any dreams or hopes of becoming a virtual streamer.

"Oh, is it so?"

He swept his cold gaze over her, silencing any further words Pania might have had to say.

“Panya, since you seem so fearless, I’ll be frank from the start: from now on, the things I’m going to ask you to do are not about paving the way for your virtual streamer career.”

Uh, huh?

To be honest, Panya didn't understand what Hayden meant and couldn't help but tilt her head. Sometimes she really couldn't understand what this old man was saying.

Hayden, though he noticed Panya's confusion, didn't seem to care much. Instead, he decided to continue, hesitating over how to phrase it as he asked Panya a question:

"You had such a huge and embarrassing failure during your last live stream. How do you think you should make up for it in your next live stream?"

Huh? Just this kind of question?

Panya immediately and matter-of-factly replied, "Of course, you get up where you fall. With your skills, Uncle, all we have to do is another live-streamed ceremony, this time letting me triumph over death and ascend to godhood in a spectacular fashion, and the problem will be solved, right?"