Chapter (39):deep search part 4
So this is the door? ,....." asked Smiley
"Yes," Emma replied.
"The door that leads to our friend?" asked Smiley.
"Maybe,yeah" replied Emma.
"So why would he lock himself behind such a door? We just want to talk! How rude."
In front of Emma and Smiley stood a giant steel door, tightly sealed. The door's appearance alone was terrifying due to its size and the blood smeared on it. There was some rotten blood beneath the door and marks that looked like desperate red hands trying to escape before the door closed. There was also an input device of the type that requires a card to operate.
"It seems we need a key to open it if we want to enter," Emma said, looking at the black card.
"Oh, you already have the key. How lucky," Smiley said, eyeing the card curiously.
"Yes... you right" Emma replied.
Emma inserted the card into the input device, but...
"Huh?"
She inserted the card, but nothing happened. The card was completely rejected, leaving a question mark in the air.
"The card doesn't work for this door. Does the card have insufficient permissions, or is the device broken?"
"Well then, I guess I'll have to use my key," Smiley said.
"You have a key?" Emma asked in surprise.
"Yes, it's the magic word," Smiley said, rolling up his sleeve and preparing to strike.
"Ooh, right. YOUR magic word," Emma replied.
"Open sesame___"
Before Smiley could punch the door, it opened automatically.
"Oh, it seems the door finally opened. Maybe because of your card, or maybe the door was afraid of getting hit... Pffft, a door afraid of getting hit sounds like a good joke, doesn't it?" Smiley said.
"More like a bad joke," Emma retorted.
"You never like any of my jokes," Smiley said, feigning a pout.
"If you want to improve your jokes, you'll have to accept criticism," Emma replied as she walked inside.
"Fair point," Smiley conceded, following her in.
When Smiley and Emma entered the room, the place was completely different. The room they stepped into looked like an empty, dark manufacturing space. There were massive machines, like car assembly lines, but of a different scale. However, that wasn't the strangest part—there were also oddly shaped steel boxes.
There were cardboard boxes filled with spare parts, but the weirdest thing in the room was the dolls... human-like cotton dolls, eerily precise and horrifying. There were many of them, lining the walls, each with a different face and body. There were even more, but Emma couldn't see them clearly due to the darkness enveloping the room.
"Dolls in a factory? Hahahaha, are we in a haunted house or what?"
"You're right... this is completely strange. I understand the machines, but dolls? This is a car factory, not a doll factory... unless... no, that would be too weird and illogical," Emma replied.
"Come on, don't overthink it. We just need to wait for him to come and—"
Suddenly, Smiley stopped talking and stared straight into the darkness.
"Smiley, what are you looking at___"
Step... step...
Emma froze when she heard footsteps and looked in the direction Smiley was staring. A figure emerged from the shadows—or what was left of it... A human, whose upper half was entirely covered in a strange metal layer, held together by small screws. The metal had turned bronze over time, and there were gears on its upper side.
On its back was something resembling a bag, but it looked more like an old battery box with a large wire connected to its head. Its head was covered by a bizarre helmet, and where its face should have been was a large metal gear spinning randomly left and right. Through the gaps in the gear, something yellow glowed like a light, staring at them.
Its arms were metallic, with strange layers, and its right hand was made of blades—long scalpel-like knives for each finger. Its left arm had no hand; instead, there was something resembling a large, wide cylinder, like a flamethrower at first glance.
In contrast, its lower half was covered in clothing, walking barefoot with scaly skin, moving sluggishly.
"W-wow, look at this! Look at this! A robot! A real robot!" Smiley exclaimed excitedly, pointing at it.
"No, you're wrong, Smiley. Judging by its lower half, this thing was once human. Its parts were replaced with machinery."
"So a cyborg! That's even cooler—a cyborg monster!" Smiley said, utterly fascinated.
"...Yeah... maybe," Emma replied coldly.
"Huh? What do you mean 'maybe'? I mean, it's practically a machine. Are you even looking at it right now?"
"Greetings... humans...."
(Note: When it speaks between [ ], its tone becomes emotionless and rigid.)
"I-It talks! OMG, it really talks!" Smiley said joyfully.
"Why are you so excited? You weren't like this since that talking deer," Emma whispered.
"Hello there, visitors. It's been a long time since anyone visited [Cadmus Car Factory]. My name is Golem-335. You may simply call me [Golem]."
"Cadmus...? Oh, right! Ahem! Mr.golem I'm Smiley! And this, my dear friend, is E— (a threatening glare from Emma behind the mask)__eb-being X!"
"Being [X]."
"Yes... that's her name," Smiley replied.
"Being X [Being X]... interesting... [Interesting]."
"So, what brings you here, visitors [humans]?"
"Humans?" Emma thought.
"Being X wants to apologize," Smiley said, interrupting Emma's thoughts.
"Yes... I apologize for... what happened."
"For... what... exactly are you apologizing?"
"For the bike thing you sent us," Smiley said simply.
"Bike... bike... [.BRF-22]."
"So that was its name. We truly apologize for accidentally blowing it up," Smiley replied.
"You say it [explosion]... how?"
"Yes, but it was a small accident, believe me. While inspecting its system, we accidentally activated a code called Alpha, right, Emma?" Smiley asked.
"Ah, yes," Emma replied.
"Smiley, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Emma thought angrily.
"I see... It seems you humans... are still the same [phase]."
"Being cooler...?" Smiley replied.
"Intelligent beings... adaptable beings...a [disgusting] beings... You never reflect on your actions... [BUGS] cause [glitches] around the world."
"Hey, that's rude, you know? We're your guests, and the first thing you do is badmouth us and humanity without even offering cookies! Or a factory tour. No wonder no one visits you,"Smiley replied with a false frown
"Besides, sending a machine like that could be dangerous, you know," Smiley said, stepping closer to Golem. "If it weren't for me and Emma, someone else might have died___"
Smiley's words were cut off when a flamethrower was aimed at his face.
"Huh?"
"Goodbye [glitch]."
"Smiley, watch out!" Emma screamed, but it was too late. In an instant, flames burst from the flamethrower as if the gates of hell had opened. After the fire stopped, the room was filled with smoke. Golem silently looked forward, completely unfazed.
But it was shocked by what it saw—Smiley was completely unharmed, despite being so close. This made no sense to it.
"Wow, man, that was dangerous! You almost burned my shirt! Do you know how awkward it is to walk around shirtless in the forest? It'd make me look like a thug or something," Smiley said.
"Congratulations, you survived. Your reflexes saved you. Or perhaps I've become [rusty]. But I doubt the same applies to your companion [human]."
"What are you talking about?" Smiley asked innocently.
"Why do you have that look on your___"
When the smoke cleared completely, Golem saw Emma in the corner, struggling to stand up in fear.
At the exact moment Golem fired, Smiley had jumped back and retreated quickly, grabbing Emma and pushing her to the side, saving her from the attack.
"I see... You two are interesting specimens. I shall enjoy [dismantling] each of you when I'm done."
"The phrase 'classic villain, my admiration for you has decreased' was spoken by Smiley."
"Don't worry about that, your opinion of me will change very [close] soon."
"Right, Being X, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Emma replied.
"Then let's start playing. Let's see the quality of the things you brought," said Smiley, showing knives in his hand that looked slightly different from ordinary knives.
These knives were among the things Emma and Smiley had bought and given to him when she went to the weapon store, along with other items in her bag.
"Let the party begin," said Smiley as he moved toward him.
Smiley rushed toward the golem, but it fired at them, covering the area and forcing Smiley to retreat a few steps.
"Hey, don't be a coward and fight me like a man!" Smiley spoke in an angry tone.
"The one who survives is the strongest fighter, and the one who dies is the weak [coward]."
"Man, I hate this kind of person," said Smiley as he tried to dodge the flames and approach the golem.
"Useless. You are a limited being, while I am limitless in what I can do."
"Let's see this, you big gear," said Smiley.
From afar, Emma watched the battle taking place, looked at her shoe, and cursed herself inwardly.
"Damn it, why didn't it work! If it weren't for Smiley, I would have burned to death!"
"In the past, when I said the shoe didn't work on the cave floor, I was lying! For some reason, it stopped working. No matter how hard I tried, nothing happened. I thought it only activated in life-threatening situations, but here I am, struggling uselessly."
"So what's different? What changed about me—"
At that moment, Emma remembered something. She remembered the faces of Sarah and Jack, their mocking expressions, and the days they bullied her.
"They're dead, gone. I don't need to overthink this! They're gone. Stop this stupid thinking and act... You've changed. You have a friend now, and he's fighting to the death. Stop being a coward and charge!"
"Come on, fairy shoe, work with me!"
"Just this once, I want to change! I don't want to be weak!"
At that moment, her shoe glowed red. When Emma saw this, she smiled behind her mask.
"Finally! It's time for a comeback!"
Back to Smiley and the golem... The battle raged between them.
"For a mortal creature, your body has more flexibility than it should."
"Big words from someone who became an old cyborg!"
"[Cyborg]... What does that mean?"
"I can't believe you don't even know the meaning of that. Just how old are you?" Smiley asked while dodging the flames.
"Older than your [creation]."
"Man, you're like a Nokia."
"You mean the strongest [phone] company in the world?"
"Not anymore," Smiley replied sarcastically.
"[Incomprehensible]."
"Because it ended years ago, you fool," said Smiley.
[What?]
"Gotcha!"
Suddenly, Smiley moved quickly, lunged toward him, and got close, swinging his knife with full force into the golem's body.
A thin wound appeared on its chest, and some small metal pieces fell out. Other than that, nothing much happened. The golem grabbed Smiley by the neck with one hand, pinned him to the ground, and aimed the fire cannon at him.
"[Fool]. My body is made of iron, [human]."
"Ooooh, yes," said Smiley as if he realized something.
"This is the real [goodbye]."
Whoosh!
"What the—"
Suddenly, the golem was pushed by something and looked at what hit him. He saw that it was the strange masked person, and before his eyes was the barrel of a gun. Before he could react, she fired.
Bang! The shot was so powerful that Smiley was released and took two steps back. His head jerked back violently from the force of the shot. Emma knew he had died from this attack.
But suddenly, the golem moved inhumanly, swinging its other arm—which had knife claws—directly toward Emma. She didn't even know how she survived.
Clang!
But before the claws reached her, they were stopped by Smiley's knife, pushing the golem back two steps.
"Wow! That was close. That was a good move."
"Yeah," said Emma. "But how the hell is this thing still okay?"
They both looked at the golem and saw that its gear was malfunctioning, losing its light, and oil was leaking from its eye. Yet despite all this, it was still moving and attacking.
"Man, this thing just won't die. So, do you have a plan?"
"Do you think I have a plan?"Emma asked
"I mean, yeah, pretty much yeah."smiley replied
"I don't know. I thought it was his eye, but I was wrong. I guess we have to destroy it piece by piece to figure it out," Emma said, looking at it.
"The old-fashioned way, then," replied Smiley.
"Fools. The only thing that [disassembles] is you two."
Smiley rushed toward him, dodging his flames and attacking while Emma aimed.
"What? Damn it, I forgot his body is made of iron. Bullets are useless unless I target his eye."
"Wait, I'll aim for his legs! His legs are flesh and blood."
Bang! Bang!
Emma fired two shots. The first missed because the golem was moving quickly and attacking Smiley, but the second hit. However, something strange happened. Instead of bleeding or staggering, nothing happened, and it kept fighting Smiley.
"What the hell?.... Didn't the attack affect him?! But there's a hole in his leg! How is this possible?!" Emma thought in shock.
Emma saw that the leg with the hole wasn't bleeding at all. It looked as if his leg was like a corpse's, which was very strange. While Emma was trying to understand what was happening, Smiley—
Smiley threw his right hand toward its back, but the golem protected itself with its other arm, which moved inhumanly, while firing at Smiley.
"Hey, why is it protecting its back with its arm unless... Wait, maybe—" Emma thought.
Emma activated the fairy shoe and charged toward it. What she was about to do was dangerous, but it might help her figure out how to defeat it.
Just as she was about to touch the tube, suddenly, sharp wires resembling spikes attacked her. Emma retreated immediately and barely escaped.
"The tube! Smiley, target the tube! It's his power source!"
"Roger," said Smiley.
Smiley moved toward him through the flames and attacked.
Smiley grabbed the fire cannon and aimed it at the ground, creating a huge smoke screen. The golem's vision was limited, and it saw a figure in the smoke. It lunged with its claw toward Smiley and stabbed.
But when the smoke cleared, it saw that what it stabbed was a dummy, and Smiley appeared directly behind it, swinging his knife.
Smiley expertly cut the tube and immediately retreated to avoid the sharp wires trying to slice him. A large amount of oil spilled from the golem's back, and its body slowed down bit by bit. Even then, it kept attacking, albeit pathetically, until it finally collapsed.
"Man, that was fun."
Emma approached and touched the golem's body.
"I see. That settles it," Emma said.
"Tell me, when are you planning to pretend?" Emma asked.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Smiley asked.
"I know you're here somewhere. Stop hiding and show yourself," Emma said.
"What? But he's dead right in front of us—"
"[Interesting]. [Bravo], truly [incredible]."
The voices came from everywhere, in different accents—sometimes a woman's voice, sometimes a man's, sometimes a child's. It was impossible to tell who it was.
"This is truly unexpected for [small humans] to discover. [10 points] for your observation."
"Hey, how are you?" Smiley asked in surprise.
"Something like this would never reveal its real body. If it did, it would be prepared or take precautions. But the way it acted and moved seemed like it was being controlled remotely."
"And even when we attacked and hit it, it acted as if it was unaffected or unconcerned. It seemed like..."
"You studied us? If that's what you mean, then yes. I love studying [samples] before testing them."
"You did all this just to test us?" Emma asked.
"Of course, I must know the [quality] of the sample before anything else."
"You say 'sample,' but what is the sample for? What's the purpose?" Emma asked.
"A sample to become a [golem], as you see. I am a scientist and a maker of golems, but I was missing some [material] in my work."
"I see. So you weren't a golem at all."
"Don't be rude. How could something as [inferior] as this be like me? You could say my true form is different."
"So what's your real name?" Emma asked.
"Name [name] name [name].... Hmmm [mmmm]..... Actually [the truth], I have many [a lot of] names [numbers], but people here called me [Talos]."
"So what's the deal with those dummies? Let me guess—a test for our fear, haha," Smiley asked while laughing.
"Oh no, this is simple. They are [models]."
"Models for what?" Emma asked suspiciously.
"You humans make [models] before you start building the real thing and compare them before and after. And I build models of [human] forms before I start making my own golems."
"Wait, does this mean all those dummies are....." Emma spoke in horror.
"[Forms] of humans before [disassembling] and rebuilding them."
As he finished speaking, many yellow lights appeared, and various shapes of golems with different weapons emerged, approaching them. Emma took a step back, while Smiley's grin widened.
"And you, with your intelligence and skills, have proven yourselves worthy to become.... [one of my creations]."