Marcan Ferros, along with Alvion Raus, and the Iron Father Clendieu, stood silently in the infirmary of the Rakuan Clan's Hall of Conquest—or perhaps the highest biomass content on the entire large fortress ship, where particles of disinfectant potions and antiseptics diffused throughout the space.

Raus had also been badly wounded in the past battle, but he was much better off than Trazi.

The part of his chest that had been cut out in the middle of the hole had been replaced, and the rest of it was easier to repair, but the entire part of the Terminator's breastplate was particularly delicate in the darkness - a gift that Ferros had joked twice about wanting to be injured and that had miraculously befallen him.

Although there was still a kind of guard that could not be declared, Raus could not deny that the cuirass and the metal entrails in it were the best he had ever used, or most like, his real body—or the most ideal body he had ever imagined he could have, even though the giver of the gift did not seem very happy with it, perhaps because the original body and the mortal pursued perfection differently.

The maker had even meticulously crafted two metal hearts inside, which were now beating powerfully along with the other three pumps in his body that had replaced the heart, and the sound they transmitted that perfectly mimicked the sound of a human heartbeat did give Raus some satisfaction to the indescribable sense of absence that had been going on in him for hundreds of years.

The pharmacist brothers have completed the treatment of Trazi, the most seriously injured, and they have come to wake up—or rather—reboot—the chief think tank.

The large, cramped space was quiet, and the operating table, or rather the apothecary's workbench, hung a number of lifting booms and servo arms, some of which still had huge metal limbs hanging underneath, and by their size, they were clearly intended for some Terminator or Daring Daught, these crude, bulky but absolutely powerful pieces of metal corpses cast long black shadows in the light of the brazier that was suspended in order to imitate Medusa.

The electricity stimulated the flesh and the new metal and wiring, producing a strange superheated smell, and with a long, tired, groaning sigh, the air re-passed through the metal's lungs and trachea, forming a thin white mist on the walls of the already cooled tubes.

With the "hum-" sound of the miniature reactor being lit up, the glow of life in Trazi's eyes lit up again.

The Chief's eye structure had been burned by the remaining out-of-control psionic flames after he had transferred all of his accumulated psionic energy to the graceful long saber, as were many of his organs and nerves, and now there were two delicate prosthetic eyes spinning in the bones.

"Here it is...... The Hall of Conquest of our clan? ”

"That's right." Behind Feros walked out of his commander Raus, "It's not over yet, the great Gorgon, the Racuan clan, and I still need your loyal service, Terazzi. ”

The Chief Think Tank lowered his head slightly as a sign of respect for someone who had returned.

"Of course." He replied, then let out a strange snort at the subtlety and ease of his new body and perceptual movements. "It's amazing...... the sense of stagnation and fatigue that had plagued him from his constantly modified armor and non-flesh parts was gone, and some of the ability to think returned to his mind, and the think tank felt the familiar psionic energy flow through his new body.

"It's amazing, isn't it. You are now a perfect combination of biochemistry and metal that we have never seen before, and the techniques and formulas used by the great Father of Genes are not fully understood even by us. "Your structure is too intricate for us to be able to read it with certainty—now that you're awake, Lacooan's chief think-tank, Trazi, tell us all that you felt in the final battle of Shadenus, and tell us in the meeting." ”

The Chief Think Tank nodded, and got up from the workbench where he was lying.

They each picked up their own part of the brain-computer interface plug.

————————

"I'm thinking, my dear chirp friend."

"-You can get rid of the chirp-what's the matter?"

"You know, because I'm from where I'm from, the Tenth Legion...... Well...... anyway, I've always taken it for granted that the title 'Iron Father' mostly refers to the position of a priest or technical sergeant in one of the Iron Ten, similar to that of other warbands, or both. ”

"—it used to be so." A slight fluctuation from Garuda indicated the bird's mood fluctuating, "I have read most of the legion and clan histories that I can find so far, and although Rakuan has only kept the part they want, it is clear that the Iron Fathers who finally returned to Medusa ...... the sons of Medusa in their own way during the quenching meeting and the days that followed."

Garuda paused again, and the Purple Court Phoenix could feel that the other party's anger was rising from reading some account of some covert battle or use of technology, like a star about to erupt, and the excessive temperature was burning and boiling in every mechanical line, and there were signs of spreading to other places. He shook his head, sending some kind of "soothing" and low sound wave from the nerve interface in his head to the other, just as Garuda had done to him after they had finished the battle at the top of Shadenus's main lair.

At that time, the flames of the gladiatorial battle overlapped with memory and reality, and the pain of suffocating breath almost overwhelmed Forgrim Ishtar, and the reason why the furious phoenix was not noticed by others was that Garuda used his authority to urgently insert and adjust his internal system, and did his best to suppress Forgrim's desire to hunt until he was able to calm down and take over his body again.

Although neither he nor he said anything more, the fact that one Primordial was able to trust and open its control to another being for help was a lot in itself.

"Ha, can it be said that your words are both very compliant and completely reinterpreted so that they do not comply, the essence of the division and loose alliance? What a bunch of little guys who can 'take advantage of loopholes'. So what does the Iron Father mean among them now? ”

"—Anyone can do it—although most of them are still technicians, but now they also include priests, think tank members or pharmacists, as well as seasoned veterans of good sergeants, and perhaps even combat friars who have excelled in battle...... Cardin Stunus has really done a poor job of this. ”

"Well, it seems that there is still one of them who can make you feel good, so I am starting to look forward to meeting him. We should be able to join him once we've cleared the subsector. ”

Garuda waved his wings low and happily, "-The biggest problem in this sub-star region has been solved, and this follow-up clean-up operation does not need to be taken care of by His Holiness himself, it is better to prepare for it." ”

“…… What to prepare? A sense of foreboding came over Phoenix.

"—According to the information received, all the leaders of the Iron Ten sub-regiments have abandoned their current mission and are coming towards Medusa with all their might." Garuda's voice sounded a kind of cold pleasure at the phoenix's sore feet, "You'd better prepare for how to deal with it...... Those Iron Fathers who have modified the speed of their brains will definitely hold a complex super-high-speed thinking meeting in the Eye of Medusa to discuss. As you said, they're very good at 'taking advantage of loopholes'. ”

And there is no doubt that Fogham Ishtar fought back, "It sounds terrible, I'm so helpless, so I guess you are the only one in this galaxy who can help me through this, right?" My friend? ”

Garuda seemed to choke in disbelief.

The phoenix let out a merry chuckle.

(End of chapter)