Chapter 85: Ctrl + Alt + Del-iver Us From Evil
The Dullahan stammered, "Th-that... that would be the most extremely heretical thing to say, my lord. The Church outright bans the use of machines. The highest members of the church believe that machines only cultivate laziness among the members and the people, and eventually a corruption of the ranks from within, all vying for power. They also believe that laziness hinders the growth of the church’s dark mana refining techniques."
"Makes sense," Karl conceded.
"However," the Dullahan continued, "one of the heretic empires, a long standing rival of the church. which is quite advanced in the development of both machines and magic, has actually developed a machine that converts natural mana into dark mana."
Karl’s smirk returned. "Well, I can’t wait to ’yoink’ some of their machines for ’requisition,’ per se."
Behind the Dullahan, Libera’s eyes widened. Our new lord is more ruthless than I expected, he does not hesitate at all. he thought.
Karl added, "Well, I bet the Church of Thanatos never touches them, since they’re also spreading dark mana to the underworld using their machines."
"That’s, in fact, quite the opposite, my lord," the Dullahan corrected. "On the contrary, they are one of the top priorities for the Temple Knights. We have been in a constant state of war for five millennia. Their machines make the church look bad to the masses, as the church uses a more efficient but questionable method of collection."
"That’s a long ass war," Karl mused. "If they’re so determined to destroy them, why not send emissaries?"
The Dullahan looked pensive. "Well... the Hierophants once requested an emissary to eliminate the kingdom, but Lord Thanatos said that it is only right for the church and the faithful to protect their beliefs. To sign up and give the faithful populace an opportunity to enforce their beliefs on the heretical faction."
Karl smiled, a knowing glint in his eye. "Uh-huh. I’ve seen too much politics. That’s an obvious way of saying Thanatos doesn’t care about the heretics as long as they also help his agenda. Even if the underworld is dominantly ruled by theocracy, politics and schemes exist on a deeper level, that people don’t know about. No matter whom, people always sort to benefits. But that guy, Thanatos, is really smart. As long as something benefits him, he doesn’t really care at all. I mean, if you were in his shoes, would you stop your enemy from making a mistake?"
The Dullahan didn’t say anything.
"Also," Karl continued, "I wouldn’t be surprised if Thanatos secretly sends his emissaries to work with them."
He’s right, Libera thought. If it were me, if I could benefit from it, why would I be stupid enough to eliminate it? That would make a lot of sense why Lord Thanatos doesn’t intervene in the great crusade and also why the war is still a stalemate after five millennia. If it were true, this entire religion is the most cruel and deceptively crafted organization on a deeper level.
Karl then returned to the task at hand. "Anyway, let’s go and find this vent. I hope it’s big enough to accommodate most of us." He pulled up his 3D map, following the beacon as he led them deeper into the ziggurat.
They arrived at the deepest chamber of the ziggurat, a vast cavern filled with a low, humming sound. In the center, large, spherical chambers of dark purple energy glowed ominously, connected by a network of large pipelines that led to an even deeper chasm below. Karl surveyed the scene.
"Is this what I think it is?" he asked, a professional glint in his eye.
"Yes, my lord," the Dullahan said with a formal bow. "These are the dark mana containment chambers. All of the dark mana collected over the years in this temple is stored here, to be inspected every century by the church’s inquisition. It is then delivered to the lower layers."
"Interesting," Karl mused, pulling up his 3D map. The beacon pulsed, pointing to a large, metallic grate in front of him. "This is it."
Leo and Rook peered through the grate, seeing only another dark, bottomless pit that seemed to extend into the abyss. "So how do we exactly go through here?" Karl wondered aloud.
Libera raised his hand, gaining Karl’s attention. He approached the grate and pointed to a deactivated pedestal to the side. "My lord, this is where the inquisitors usually arrive. They use this pedestal to summon a platform."
Karl’s eyes lit up with recognition. "Hmm... this is the same exact thing as the one on the elevator platform we rode on." He smiled, examining the device for any buttons or disconnected wires.
"Unfortunately, I cannot help you with that, my lord," Libera said. "Only the inquisition knows how to use them."
"They are said to be older than the underworld itself," the Dullahan added, as Karl half-listened, his hands already working. He found several disconnected tubes and began plugging them into the pedestal.
"Only the highest members of the church know how to tamper with such ancient machines," the Dullahan finished.
Karl plugged in the last tube, and the pedestal hummed to life, a faint light beginning to glow. "Well," he said, "it benefits them. The less you know, the better."
A screen on the pedestal lit up, a retro, debug-style interface appearing. Dullahan and Libera stared, utterly amazed. "H-how did you do that, my lord?" the Dullahan stammered. Leo and Rook, who had been watching silently, scoffed at the two stunned knights.
"Well," Karl explained, "if you’ve spent countless hours building your PC and realized the parts don’t match, you learn a thing or two."
"Pee-see?" Libera asked, confused by the term.
"Never mind," Karl dismissed, his attention focused on the screen. "Anyway," he said, seeing an on-screen keyboard appear, "this is just like Linux!" He was giddy, the interface a welcome familiarity. He quickly typed help, and the screen populated with text.
███ SUBTERRANEAN UTILITY CONTROL NODE ███
System Kernel v12.4.993 [DARK-MATTER FLOW REGULATOR]
> help
Available modules:
elevator Manage vertical transport platforms
dmatter Monitor / reroute dark matter conduits
auto Schedule automated tasks
sys System status & diagnostics
logout Exit control node
Libera and the Dullahan glanced at each other, one thought consuming their minds: How could he use this? Only the highest order of the church has the knowledge to work with such ancient machines.
Karl read the available modules, muttering, "Hmm... what the fuck? ’Dark matter’? Not ’dark mana’?" He was confused. "Is dark matter and dark mana the same? I know they are, but how did ’dark matter’ get here? This interface also looks like a design from Earth." He thought for a moment then dismissed the thought. "Anyway, let’s leave it for thinking later and let’s check."
He typed dmatter status --floor 15, and the screen updated.
> dmatter status --floor 15
Dark Matter Conduit Readout - Floor 15:
Density Field: 2.11e+4 Tesla Units
Pressure State: Stable
Leakage: 0.03%
Safety Rating: YELLOW (advise reroute)
-----------------------------------------------------
System Summary:
Elevators: 3 total (2 operational)
Dark Matter Flow: stable (Floor 07: active drain)
Automated Tasks: 1 active
Structural Integrity: 92%
Karl’s face was a mixture of shock and morbid fascination. "Oh my god," he muttered. "The thin layer of dark mana present around us is because of a fucking leakage?!"
No one else fully understood what he was saying except for Leo, who approached. "My lord, we could build a pipeline that connects the lower floors to the 4th floor. We could use the dark mana to forge dark steel."
Karl’s smirk widened, his eyes gleaming. "Ahhh... you really do understand me, Leo." He rubbed his bony hands together. "But for now, let’s do what we came here to do. It’s useless if we can’t fix the issue on our hands; we can’t go to the upper floors as long as that damn mana node is fixed."
Leo nodded, and Karl typed elevator list.
> elevator list
Utility Elevators Online:
[01] Platform Alpha - Floor 15 (idle)
[02] Platform Beta - Floor 19 (offline: overload trip)
[03] Platform Gamma - Floor 09 (standby)
He then typed elevator select 01 and then elevator send 07.
> elevator select 01
Platform Alpha selected (currently Floor 15)
> elevator send 07
Command accepted: Platform Alpha descending → Floor 07
ETA: 00:01:15
As he finished typing, the large grate behind them opened with a mechanical groan. Karl turned and said, "Now we wait."
The Dullahan and Libera bowed, a newfound respect in their gestures. "Congratulations, my lord. You did it."
Karl dismissed their praise with a wave of his hand. "No, no, that’s fine. There’s nothing to be proud of, really."
Exactly one minute and fourteen seconds later, a platform elevator arrived. A small control pedestal appeared from beneath the platform’s floor. The platform itself was significantly smaller than the one they had ridden when they first arrived to the 7th floor. As Karl stepped on, the others followed, but they were squeezed tightly together, and the soldiers still couldn’t fit.
Karl placed his hand on the pedestal. "Isn’t this supposed to say ’overloaded’?"
Rook, still standing off the platform, stepped forward. "My lord, I can stay here with the men in case something happens."
"No, I’ll return," Karl said. "I’ll just have to take them below."
He selected 8th floor on the pedestal, and the platform began to descend. After a minute, it stopped. Leo and Schalezusk were on the ready, as were the Dullahan and Libera. They stepped out onto a level that was nothing but stone walls, cobwebs, and lit torches.
"You guys clear the rooms, but don’t go far away," Karl said, still on the platform. "I’ll just fetch the others." Leo quickly ordered the few soldiers who had fit on the platform to split into two groups and check each room.
Karl then selected 7th floor and ascended again, leaving them in the silent, dark chamber.