Above Jarilo-IV, the Assimilator's Core piece began to move as five large towers moved. These towers were sent to smaller Assimilator pieces via Graviton trains.
Once in position, these towers were sent down like nails into the planet's ground.
Moments later, the towers activated. The tips of these buildings began to glow, emitting green particles into the air.
The particles began to spread, starting to affect the very atmosphere of the planet.
People in the city began to notice that the particles were very visible; not only that, but they also had a fluffy feeling when the particles touched them.
But soon enough, things started to happen. For one… the food in the market stalls began to react. Fruits which were not fully ripe matured; the seeds that were for sale began to grow without even being put in dirt.
All of those things began to happen.
But that wasn't all; soon enough, beams from the sky began slamming into the ground all over the world as planetary sculpting began.
Meanwhile, aboard the Assimilator in one of the observation decks, Kafka leisurely sat down on a comfortable cushion as she took a cup full of coffee and began to drink while looking at what was happening in the world below.
This kind of situation…
It was… empowering. Here she is, watching people below struggle with their little lives while she is up here, away from such small things… bathing in luxury.
This was… heaven.
"Enjoying yourself, aren't you?"
Kafka turned her head, and a silver-haired, purple-eyed maid with a choker spoke to her.
"How could I not? I have everything I would ever want." The wine-coloured lady smiled while replying to her.
"Is that so? You do know that this is temporary. Master only needs to say a word, and all of your privileges will be stripped."
The lady smiled when she heard that.
"That depends. Belfast. After all, I haven't done anything to make him take such an action. I am well aware that my status depends on his favour." Kafka said with a hum.
"That is why I am wondering what he is planning for me. You are here to tell me, no?" She asked, realising why Belfast is here.
"Yes. Your intuition is very good. Our Master is thinking that you should show him how useful you are. The government here has lost control of the Underworld.
We are going to assist in regaining control of that area. From what they tell us, that place is full of bandits, rogue Automata and other lower life forms." The maid explained to her.
"Is that so? Then I will need weapons, or you expect me to fight with my bare hands?" The woman teased, but Belfast didn't respond as she simply smiled.
"That is something we Ship girls can do. Our bodies are designed to be weapons. I could break many things people consider mythological with my bare hands."
"...I see. Well, I am not designed like that, so you will have to help me acquire weapons."
"That can be arranged." Belfast, in the end, nodded. Since this human is a bit fragile, she will have to assist in that.
"Wonderful."
~~~
Herta's eyes trembled as she slowly opened them and looked around.
She was on the top of a large but unfamiliar bed. The surroundings were something she couldn't recognise.
For a moment, she had a blank gaze until she recalled something she wanted to forget and bury in the darkest reaches of her subconscious.
"...right…"
"I was taken away." For a second, she recalled what happened to her, what THAT man did to her!
Her blank gaze darkened, and she promised to herself that she would torture that individual until he was a drooling mess!
'No, worse, even when he begs, I won't stop!'
She clenched her fist in fury. But then, she began to shake just from remembering what happened!
That unfathomable power. How can someone like that even exist?
'Why didn't he ascend and become an Aeon!?'
Eventually, her nose picked up something delicious, causing her stomach to rumble.
'Food… I need some food.'
She slowly got up and walked over to the door. Poking through the gap she made.
She left her hat on the bed to make herself look smaller. As she left the room, she looked to the right, where the smell was coming from. Slowly, the genius witch walked over and ended up in a wider living room area. There was a dining table, a resting area, and an open kitchen connecting all three of them.
Her eyes ended up on the person who was cooking something.
'That's him! What kind of game are you playing now!?' The witch narrowed her eyes, thinking of how to ignore him, but her stomach kept rumbling.
She doesn't know how much time has passed, but it has to be a considerable amount if she feels that hungry!
"Come, I've been practising cooking after watching my fiancée cook." He exclaimed with a smile.
"Ugh. How can you speak about another woman in front of one!" Herta replied in a frustrated tone.
"Is that so? Well, you are part of my harem, so you will have to get used to it." He bluntly replied, making her narrow her eyes for a second.
'Take it easy, Herta. He is one of those.'
The ash-brown-haired girl took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Whatever you say… Husband." She called him 'husband' with deep and 'sweet' poison. If he were a lump of soft material, he would have been reduced to a pile of melted waste.
"Good to hear. Now come over, let's eat." However, he had ignored her shift in tone. For him, it was another day with a gorgeous girl.
"Hmph."
Herta walked over and sat down. Her eyes scanned the table full of food she had not seen before.
Regardless of what all of this is, it looks amazing.
'Damn him.'
Slowly, but very unwillingly, she tried to taste whatever looked best.
The moment the piece of warm food ended up in her mouth, a sharp current washed her whole being.
"Aghh~~~" A soft moan escaped from her lips.
'N-No way… I-I moaned… from food!?'
Her gaze went to him as she saw him look at her with a satisfied gaze.
'L-Like I am some sort of a pet! Damn you, outsider!'
"Go on. This is something I prepared just for you, Herta." He softly told her to keep eating.
"S-Shut up! You captured me; now you try to domesticate me with your weird food!" She complained, but the smell was unbearable; she soon took another bite, and another, and another.
Marcus gleefully looked at her.
"That is a strong word, Herta. All I did was cook food for you because I knew you were hungry…But if you don't want it, I can always take it away." With that said, the food from the table disappeared in a burst of green light.
Herta looked at the table; the food was gone, even the piece that was on the spoon.
Her eyes ended up on him.
"What is with the look? I made all of that, and I can't even get a simple thank you? Instead, I was accused of trying to domesticate you." The Inventor shook his head in disappointment.
"All I wanted was to impress a beautiful witch."
"Hmph…I know that you can't get enough of me." The ash-brown-haired beauty replied, as she already knew what he wanted!
"Indeed."
"Then summon the food back! And I will forgive you for what you did to me in your bedroom!" Herta blushed red; just recalling that episode in the bedroom made her burst with embarrassment and rage!
"Is that so? Then what about you trying to capture me? What will you do to make me forget about that?" He reminded her about that.
"D-Don't joke around! I literally couldn't even damage your true self! It was like trying to tickle a being with a feather in another reality!
There is nothing to be offended by!" Even if it pains her to say this, she is no match against this guy! He is realities away from her!
That is why she is trying to be HUMBLE… BUT it's literally her! This is the hardest thing she has done in years.
"So you think that verbal apology is enough?" He 'pondered'.
"...Yes. I–I am… well… I… want to…"
The longer she struggled, the more he smiled at her.
"Go on. You do know that I have a selection of desserts ready." With a thought, he summoned a selection of pastries, cakes, and ice creams.
Herta's eyes widened as drool began to drip from the corner of her mouth. The witch shook her head, composing herself.
Before coughing into a fist.
"...as I was saying. I wanted to… apo-lo-gi-se." It came out robotic, but she did it.
"That's my darling Herta." As he said that, the deserts were gone and her food returned.
Without hesitation, she started to dig in.
'Erina's skills do come in handy. Thankfully, I paid enough attention to copy her style of cooking.'
Marcus pondered; he was honestly surprised by how strong Herta's resilience was. A simple human girl would have been a horny, drooling mess in front of him by this point.
He noticed that his power comes with many perks but also many downsides.
Bronya was a good example, as she quickly caved in to him.
But Herta has been resisting for a considerable amount of time. The question is how long her stubbornness will last.
After stuffing herself, the witch looked at him.
"So what now? What is your grand plan for me?" Herta asked him now that her stomach was full.
"There is none. The only grand plan is taking over the cosmos. You will, one way or another, come with me. The only thing that is separating us is time.
Even if you run away, build up forces, gather your strength. In the end, you will be mine." He explained as simply as possible.
"That's some confidence." Herta frowned, but she felt no lies in his words… AND that makes her cold to her very soul.
"You have heard of swarm, right?"
She scoffed for a second. "That is given."
"Well, their numbers and speed of growth are inconsequential compared to mine. Because, unlike them, we are from outside time itself." He swirled green clouds around his fingers.
"This is a miniature form of time, and my place is…" He created a small image of himself next to the green cloud. "-Is here. Do you understand what this means?"
For a second, she stared. Marcus could imagine gears spinning in her head. Because the next moment, she paled.
"...If what you are saying is right."
He stopped her as he explained the other vital thing.
"This is not all, my beloved Herta." She grimaced for a second when he called her like that." The key point is that my faction generates perpetual energy and practices molecule and atom manipulation.
To simply translate, your cosmos resources are finite, compared to my infinite. I can wage war in the most literal sense, forever, while you can't.
Not to mention, I can manage my invasions broadly from any angle into your reality.
That is why I told you before, and will tell you again, what I said to you last time.
I gave you a choice to run away and try to fight me at a later date.
But you stayed and tried to fight me anyway. That was what sealed your fate with me."
His explanation caused her to lean back in her seat and simply stare… she got spacey.
"Now, do you want desserts?"
"...You…you drop something like this and then ask if I want desserts!?" Herta's expression morphed into a baffled one as she couldn't process the extreme swings from one to another!
"Do you?" He asked again, this time very seriously.
"Of course!" She snapped back. "I feel like stuffing myself until I pass out!" Herta exclaimed with a despairing expression.
"Is that so?" With a wave of his hand, he summoned her desserts.
"Here."
Her eyes brightened as she began to eat with an eager expression.
Marcus watched her with a smile as he felt that she was slowly slipping into his arms. Sadly, the poor girl doesn't know yet, but she can't drown her sorrow in food.
Because Marcus will fix her either way.
After pondering about Herta, he leaned back in his chair, summoned his console and checked on the Scammer he caught.
'What should I do with you, Pleam? Hmm, what to do…' He tapped his finger on his chin. What kind of means of disposal should he use?
Since Bronya can't permanently deal with this scammer woman, it falls on his shoulders.
'Ah, yes, that could do.'
He used his psionic powers to create a purple coin with one side having his face, while the other side was the number 5.
Basically, a five-cent coin.
'Face is Allosaurus, and tails are…'
For a few moments, he pondered. This was a difficult choice.
'Another predator would be boring… maybe… ah yes…'
Marcus imagined a huge herbivore. Many people don't realise, but Herbivores, in fact, are more dangerous than predators.
For example, a hippo, an elephant, or a zebra- those guys are a menace to society, much more than an actual predator.
That is why the Inventor decided to choose a Sauropod.
Being swept aside like a fly by a mammoth creature is far more entertaining to watch than getting shredded by an Allosaurus.
Sure, the Apex Jurassic Period Predator is cool and all. His favourite from that period, but still a giant sauropod crushing a screaming human, will be awesome.
And so he did a coin toss before catching and checking it.
"Tails… so a Sauropod."
With a thought, he checked the archives.
'Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus, Camarasaurus, …Patagotitan…Argentinosaurus.'
Marcus stroked his chin.
'Yes… let's go with the biggest.'
With that said, he picked Argentinosaurus DNA and began synthesising the animal before switching to incubation.
As this was happening, the Inventor checked Herta before him.
The Witch was serious when she said that she would pass out from eating, as she was trying to do just that!
'Sadly for you…my dear Herta, I am here."
He lifted his hand, pointed his index finger upwards and thumb to the side. Green energy surged, and the area around the hand became a clock, and the fingers became the clock index indicators.
To affect time, he simply moved his hand. For this, he specifically focused on her digestive system and just like that.
Herta didn't even notice that she had consumed all the dessert, and nothing happened!
"...Hmm…?"
The ash-brown-haired girl looked around.
"What is going on?" She complained, narrowing her eyes. She picked up something strange!?
"I accelerated your digestive system and burned the excess calories."
Herta looked at him; her expression was a bit strange.
"Hmm…" She crossed her arms and crossed her legs before leaning into the chair.
"I suppose, if you do this, then I can't push this issue aside. I thought I could end myself like this, but you won't allow me.
Considering you told me that you even control the afterlife." She sighed, realising that she fucked up, like… fucked up to the point that her life is no longer her life. She thought she would face some strange but dangerous outsider.
But it turns out this guy is akin to something like an Eldritch being!
"Indeed." He smiled a bit.
*Sigh*
She raised her hands in defeat. This was the most one-sided fight she has ever been in!
"Fine. You win. I surrender to you. This time… I am serious." Herta said with a resigned sigh.
"Wonderful." This time, Marcus felt that she was serious. He could feel resignation radiating from her; there was no stubbornness from her anymore.
"Well, shall we start then?" She got up and was about to start undressing
But this time, Marcus raised his eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"No. You silly girl." He sighed, realising what she was doing, and stopped her,
"We can do it, but there should be a special circumstance, not things like this."
"..." For a second, she stared at him blankly before grinning from ear to ear.
"Well-well- the big and bad realities conquering baddie is a romantic one!" Herta giggled as this was the most amusing thing she had heard in a while!
Marcus snorted. Now he felt offended!
"Let me explain something, Madam Herta." He got serious all of a sudden.
He then began to rant about his creations and the increasing difficulty of the beauties he made!
In the end, Herta stopped smiling, and instead, she got spooked by what she heard!
"You want to tell me… You made someone without even knowing their DNA… just from a drawing!?" She asked, not fully believing what she just heard!
"I can show you logs and videos of it."
"Show me! Now!" The beauty demanded, as she wanted to see!
If this is true… then what he did is what Ruan Mei wanted her whole life! This is the apex of life creation! Creating at will!
"Sure. Come with me."
He motioned for her to come with him.
The Witch jumped from the chair and followed him with extra spring in her step.
They went down the corridor from which the girl had come out. There is a bedroom there!
Herta, for a second, frowned. Is he going to show her the 'classic' method of life making!? It was a straight thought.
But they passed the bedroom and went to the room in the corridor.
"This is the Archives room. Every single suite in my Assimilator has such a room." He explained that as the doors opened, they revealed a room that looked like it was made from diamond tiles.
The witch looked around, spotting a single comfortable chair.
As he walked, the diamond tiles glowed, and rows of books rushed from all four sides of the walls, before becoming a perfectly arranged miniature library.
"A holographic library. I am delighted to know that there is something like this inside my suite." Herta hummed with satisfaction when she saw this.
"Indeed." He nodded before selecting a few books more like the books that had chosen him as they floated over and opened up.
With a glow, the surroundings shifted, revealing a workshop of some sort.
Herta perked up as she heard Marcus speak.
'This is a memory! This is not just a pure book in the form of holograms, but real memories! This is a treasure trove!'
The girl giddily walked over and noticed another Marcus sitting at the workshop table dressed in a lab coat, a simple grey T-shirt, and slacks. He looked like a simple nerd.
The witch paid more attention to what he was doing.
'He is drawing a person?'
She watched for a while before she realised that it was that Sirin girl!
At first, it was a simple 2nd drawing, before shifting to make a 3rd.
It became a complete design, from clothes to expressions.
Then…
She saw it.
He opened another window before making… a blue and red ball of some sort connecting with each other with bridges.
'...Wait… he…'
Herta's eyes began to tremble as she realised that he was doing it from the fundamental level!
'He is putting atoms together! One by one!'
Her gaze snapped at him as she saw him smile… nostalgically at this.
"Watch, don't wander off." He snapped her back to the memory.
Marcus worked without breaks and eventually completed the entire DNA sequence before running simulations.
And then, projection… what she saw was a window showing 99.99% of the 3rd image he had created.
'He made…a perfect body according to his drawing.'
"...the next memory?" Herta asked impatiently.
"Watch." He nodded at her as the memory shifted.
It was a different room.
There were glass incubators, something Herta was familiar with.
Before her, she could see the accelerated growth of the white-haired girl.
"Unlike other creations of mine. This is Sirin, and I invited Sirin's soul to inhabit this body. I created a method that allowed her soul to cross over from her reality to this body."
"...Wait… how do you know that it would work?" She snapped her gaze at him and looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"That is because I knew that her universe is real. When I designed her looks, I drew on what I remembered, and from that, I simply used my understanding of waves to create a bridge between realities, inviting the deceased Sirin to inhabit her body.
Thus… I brought back to life one of my future wives." He explained to her as she saw Sirin open her eyes in the glass chamber.
Herta can see this girl looking around. It was a fully self-aware individual!
"..."
'Not only did he create a life he wanted, but… he brought back a dead person! This is… very impressive.
If I follow him, then I am certain… I will master these secrets!'
All of a sudden, Marcus could feel that Herta's expression had changed, and she looked at him with a heated look.
Like a hungry beast that wants to eat him. All of a sudden, he became very delicious to her.
"Well?" He asked with a slowly growing grin.
"You had curiosity, but now you have my undivided attention." Herta declared, as she could barely hide her desires.
"Good to hear that we are on the same page, darling."
"Fufufu. For some reason, now I like it when you call me like that." She placed her right index finger on her lips.
"That much is given."
Her grin didn't disappear, as his bragging was no longer something she cared about.
"You need to show me how you do your things in detail. I am very interested. Very interested. You will keep me close, won't you? Husband?" She asked in a cute tone.
"That is why we are here, aren't we, Herta?" His hand went to her chin as he gently stroked it. His actions caused her to lean closer to him as her eyes gazed at him.
"Why don't you do something that I could watch?" She asked in a borderline purring voice.
"Sure." He leaned a bit forward, getting closer to her. This is where the witch's eyes gleamed as she moved forward and kissed him without hesitation.
Now that had surprised Marcus, as he didn't think he would get to her so quickly. But this was very good because he got the smartest girl in the Star Rail Universe.
It was a simple one, but it was still a kiss—a kiss she initiated by herself.
After a few moments, Herta pulled back and asked him once more.
"Tell me~~ what have you been working on?" She asked him, wondering what he had been working on.
"Several things, actually." He dismissed the archives with a wave of his hand as he looked at her.
"For one. My fiancée's world became a barren wasteland after we removed Eternal Freeze, which was a stellaron ravaging this world.
My Assimilator is terraforming it now and is preparing to restore vegetation to how it was before the manifestation of that thing."
The witch patiently listened.
"You will be restoring the whole planet's vegetation?" She asked, wanting to confirm it.
"Are you interested in seeing how we are bringing back fauna and flora of a once dead world?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"Very. I want to see how you do it." She replied with a smile.
"Sure, then let's go." He offered her his hand, and Herta took it without hesitation. Now that her switch has been flipped…
Things are very different.
Less than an hour ago, she wanted him to suffer; now she wants to hog him all for herself! A complete 180-degree change!
~~~
When Quinella opened her eyes, she had this urge that someone was stealing something that was hers!
'Master! Who did you charm this time?' Her psychic senses told her that her creator was entertaining a new, very dangerous woman.
In truth, she hasn't felt like this for a long time.
So far, no real threat has appeared to her position. But now…
'Did he find a scientist type?' Quinella tried to move, but then she realised that Master had made sure to put her to bed.
'Thankfully, I wasn't designed to be out for long.' With that said, magic circles surrounded her, and her muscles and stamina began to recover by burning her psionic reserves.
Before long, she crawled over to the side of the bed and tried to locate her triangle device.
After looking around for a bit longer, she realised that the device was at the bottom of the bed, so she needed to go there.
A few moments later, she found it on the carpet floor.
A small smile appeared on her lips as she used her telekinesis to make it fly over to her hand.
Once she got it in her hands, she closed her chest, and the nanites surged into her body.
Her clothes manifested, and at the same time, energy flooded her very being.
"Much better."
With that said, she got out of bed. By this point, she only felt a bit sore. This very soreness started to disappear as well.
'One of the best inventions to date.' She smiled as she accessed the HUD, trying to figure out what she was feeling.
The girl realised that her creator was being secretive with his newest addition to the Technocracy.
But she only needed a few glimpses through the cameras to know who it could be.
'A witch? Is he trying to replace Le Fay?'
But something was odd about her. The girl was radiating absurd confidence.
Remembering her about herself!
"Hmph!"
With a huff, she walked out of the bedroom and then out of the suite, walking to the end of the corridor and taking the lift to the workshop floor.
Once she arrived there, she walked to Marcus' workshop.
In the workshop, she found the pair.
"Quinella, are you finally up?" Marcus immediately noticed her.
"Good morning, Master." She greeted her with a beautiful smile. The other girl in the room noticed her.
"Oh… so she is one of your creations!"
"I am his first Masterpiece." The AI turned Assistant declared in a proud tone.
"I can see that. Very Impressive." The ash-brown-haired girl nodded as she strolled over and inspected her from all angles.
Now that… was weird! This is the first time someone has done anything like that! Only her Master would inspect her beauty like that!
"...What are you doing?" Quinella got a bit defensive in front of such weirdness.
"...Oh… you can even react like that!"
"Of course I can, you stupid witch! I am a completely self-aware Biological model!" She growled at such a stupid remark.
The witch took a step back.
"I do apologise. It's my first time seeing something like this. I can't see any difference between you and any other human being.
That is why I am so impressed. It's a bit… unnerving," She apologised. This situation was new to her.
"Quinella, this is Herta. She is from the Genius Society and something called an Emanator. You can call her something like an apostle to one of the Aeons."
"I am well aware, Master; I have been reading the records of this reality." Quinella flicked her hair as she looked at Herta.
"I can assume she will be joining us, since she is a scientist type of individual." The Assistant commented.
"Don't mind me. I am simply here to observe Marcus' work. He has… mesmerised me." Herta showed her a healthy blush.
"Oh? You have acknowledged my Creator's greatness?" All of a sudden, Quinella's 'hostility' dropped severely.
"Of course. I haven't seen anyone do what he could do." Herta acknowledged with a serious nod.
This made Quinella smile; she showed a beautiful smile to the witch.
"Did you know that Master's origins are as humble as they come? He started in his father's garage as a simple mechanic until he stumbled upon magic. Starting his journey as the Heir to Solomon.
Yet he was never consumed with classic methods of magic; instead, he chose to make his own way.
Creating magitek, or as he calls it, Technomancy, thus giving birth to Technocracy, the interdimensional time-crossing empire that shall rule everything." Quinella gave the girl a crash course in her creator.
"...I am aware." Herta had this strange, knowing look. After all, Marcus gave her his crash course in the most shameful way possible.
"Moh! Master! Leave such basics to your followers! No need for you to sully your mouth with such basic tasks!"
Marcus chuckled after hearing that.
"You do know that I like getting dirty from time to time." He said while smiling.
'I do miss working on my Mustang; it has been months.' For a second, he recalled that he was grounded and that his car's restoration project awaited him in his father's garage.
"Besides, she tried to oppose me."
Quinella's eyes widened before she started uncontrollably laughing.
"Hahahahaha… you tried to fight Master? Is everything fine in your head? Not even Primordial Gods fight him! Not anymore after he took down the Evil and Death Gods!"
Herta grimaced for a second. Yes, she is well aware! No need to rub salt in her wound!
"Yes, I know it was stupid of me." The witch looked away.
At some point, Quinella calmed down and wiped her tears away.
"I like you. You can make me laugh like this. It's rare." The Assistant approved of her.
'At my expense.'
"Indeed. If you can make me laugh at your expense, it is a good thing." The platinum-haired girl smiled even more.
'...Mind reading…'
"Yes. Welcome to a perfect human society, sweetheart. Mind reading is something almost everyone here can do."
Quinella's voice rang in Herta's mind.
The witch grimaced even more. This is going to be such a pain! Not only can Marcus read her, but his creations as well!
No doubt all of them are zealous for him. If she slips, everyone will know—such a pain.
~~~
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