Chapter 897
"Not good." Amelia's tone shifted.
"What is it?"
"An enemy," she said. "There aren't many threats to Gatekeepers like us, but this one is similar to us in structure. Only... they don't live on land—they come from the deep sea. Their primary directive is to kill Gatekeepers."
Ron looked out the window. A mechanical form came into view, bearing some resemblance to Amelia.
"Do you need help?"
"Yes." Her voice was urgent now. "That one is ranked higher than me. I can't win in a direct fight."
"Where's its weak point?"
"It's in the core—but I don't know exactly where."
"Got it."
Ron activated a thought. A new figure materialized beside him—it was Teresa.
Because Ron's own combat strength was already high, he didn't often need to summon Teresa. There were several of his beasts whose combat power exceeded hers, but this time, the situation suited her well. The attacker was strong, but from Ron's perspective, not overwhelmingly so.
A corridor formed. Ron issued the command.
"Kill the one outside."
Teresa nodded and walked through the passage. In her human form, she entered the seawater effortlessly. Breathing wasn't necessary. As long as Ron provided enough aura, his Nen beasts could move freely.
The enemy was already launching an assault on Amelia. As it closed in, Ron could see more clearly. This attacker, like Amelia, was a mechanical lifeform. But unlike her submarine-like build—or the cruise-ship shapes of other Gatekeepers—this one took the form of a marine creature. Its appearance resembled one of the deep-sea fish Ron had caught earlier in the voyage, but it was obviously not made of flesh. It was a synthetic body.
Boom!
Before it even reached Amelia, two cannon rounds exploded near her position. The shockwaves rocked her form, causing her to stagger.
Ron focused his aura into his feet and stabilized his stance.
Amelia returned fire.
As Ron watched the exchange, he couldn't help but think how much it resembled a fight between Autobots and Decepticons. The reasons were different, but the visuals were similar.
Teresa stepped forward through the water as easily as walking on land. She raised her sword and swung.
A flash of swordlight tore through the sea.
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out as a fracture opened across the attacker's body. A dark, unknown fluid leaked out—not blood, but something closer to engine oil.
Only now did the enemy shift its focus to Teresa. The strength system of mechanical lifeforms was fundamentally different from that of Nen users. Initially, the enemy hadn't seen Teresa as a threat. Only after she landed a damaging blow did it begin to realize her power and redirect its assault.
But it was too late.
Teresa hadn't even activated her awakened state, and she was already dominating the fight. Her movements were rapid, each swing of her blade leaving a new wound on the enemy. Parts began to fall off—joints, plates, exposed circuitry.
Ron evaluated its power level.
"Overall... not that strong," he muttered. "It qualifies as Grade A, but most of that comes from its size advantage. In terms of Nen standards, it's about equal to a standard A-rank user. Nothing exceptional."
Amelia visibly relaxed as Teresa pushed the attacker into a losing position. Ron noticed it immediately. That meant Amelia was actually weaker than the enemy. But against Teresa, the enemy had no chance. Its attacks never landed, while it couldn't avoid hers.
Realizing it was outmatched, the enemy tried to flee. But it was too late.
Teresa pursued.
"Brutal Slash!"
Boom!
The enemy was torn apart. Its frame collapsed and shattered. Fragments and mechanical debris scattered in all directions.
From within the wreckage, a glowing yellow sphere emerged and began to flee. This, it seemed, was the true core—the main body. Everything else had merely been a shell.
Ron's eyes narrowed.
"Teresa!"
She immediately chased it.
"Phantom!"
Her body accelerated, closing the distance even faster than the sphere could flee. In one motion, she snatched it from the water and held it in her palm. The core struggled wildly, but Teresa's grip was heavier and stronger.
"Amelia," Ron said, watching closely, "what is this thing?"
Teresa brought the sphere closer to her.
"This is an Origin Core," Amelia replied. "It's our core—like the human heart and brain combined."
"So the attacker isn't truly dead yet? If I destroy this thing, would that be its real death?"
"No," Amelia said. "You already killed it. The core can't be destroyed. It will return, and from that return, a new lifeform will eventually emerge. That life won't be the same individual—it will be something entirely new."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "So it's more like a human soul?"
"Do human souls reincarnate?" Amelia asked.
"In theory, yes."
Ron wasn't sure where human souls went after death. There was no confirmed understanding of what happened after someone died. Maybe there was an afterlife. Maybe not. If it existed, it remained unknown to the people of the Human World.
But based on the existence of Chimera Ants, Ron had drawn some conclusions. Humans in this world did have something akin to a soul. Otherwise, Chimera Ants who awakened human memories wouldn't feel such a strong identification with their former selves. Kite, for example, wouldn't have continued to refer to himself as Kite—he would have adopted a new name, seeing himself as a new being.
"Ron," Amelia said, "you should release that Origin Core quickly. Both we and they care deeply about it. That core is like a beacon."
"As long as it's here, more of them will keep coming."
"Your strength is impressive, but you can't take them all on."
"The one that came just now wasn't even the strongest among them."
"There are others—stronger ones."
Teresa had already returned to the submarine through the passage. Ron looked at the Origin Core in her hand, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
As someone who had absorbed the Nen beasts developed by the Gatekeeper Continent, he wondered—could this core be of use to Bumblebee?
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