The massive steel arm came closer, its overwhelming weight making itself known. My body, filled with fear, trembled uncontrollably.

‘Let go of the blade, or hold on and try to withstand it. A binary choice. How will you respond?’

If I let go of the blade, it will crush my head, and if I hold on, the steel arm will smash me. The binary choice my opponent has forced upon me offers no correct answer.

I chose a different option.

I hooked my fingers inside the blade. The outside was sharp, but the inside was dull. Carefully gripping it to avoid being cut, I stole Maximilien's unique magic.

Unique magic: Gear Maiden.

A world made of gears. When one is moved, all connected gears move simultaneously. In this world, concepts like friction, wear, and power loss do not exist. There are only two states: turning or not turning.

Taking advantage of the moment when Maximilien was focused on his arm, I reversed the direction of the blade. My body was suddenly hoisted upward. My arms trembled under the excessive pressure. Even though the blade wasn’t sharp, I could feel my fingers being squeezed. Fortunately, the lingering effects of the drug numbed the pain. Thank you, drugs. I’ll rely on you more in the future.

‘Impressive, but that ability was originally mine.’

Maximilien wasn’t just standing by. As soon as he glared at me through his monocle, the blade came to an abrupt halt. The momentum carried my body into the air.

A dizzying sensation, as if gravity had disappeared. But this was enough. I pulled out two cards from my sleeve: the two and eight of diamonds. Versatile hook and anything thin and long.

I connected the hook to a wire and threw it toward the Steel Beetle. The hook caught on a gear, and I pulled myself forward with all my strength. I don’t possess superhuman power, but I can at least adjust the direction in which I fall.

Tracing an arc as I descended, I reached the side of the Steel Beetle. Before I crashed into it, I extended my legs and landed on the gears. The moment my feet touched the surface, I used Maximilien's unique magic to move the gears. I made only the gears under my feet turn upward.

The gears, as always, fulfilled their roles dutifully. The large waterwheel-like gear, carrying my weight, began to rotate. The ground beneath me seemed to throw me forward, and I nimbly leaped upward. After a series of acrobatic moves, I reached the top of the Steel Beetle.

Behind me, I heard Maximilien’s voice.

"Impressive coordination. Moving gears may seem simple, but executing such techniques isn’t easy. You’re not just stealing my unique magic, are you?"

Immediately after he spoke, a massive hand slammed down next to me. The impact shook the surface beneath me. I quickly retreated and saw that a large hand made of scrap metal and gears had dug into the Steel Beetle. Sparks flew as jagged edges ground against one another, and after a moment of friction, the steel hand fused with the Steel Beetle.

Maximilien pulled himself up with that hand, instantly closing the height gap I had painstakingly climbed. It took him just one second. It felt almost absurd.

"Well, even if you’re fast, you’re not as skilled as me."

"I’ve lived my whole life with gears, unlike you. You, on the other hand, only just started using this ability. Is that also a power granted by the Human King?"

Of course, it’s thanks to mind reading, but I won’t tell him that. I nodded in response.

"Humans are tool-using animals, after all."

"The Human King who can skillfully use all tools. But it’s not limited to just tools, is it? Alchemy, Qi, all of it—remarkably proficient."

His gaze shifted to my cards. As an alchemist, he must have immediately recognized the alchemical essence embedded within them.

"Yet, despite your skill, your creations are lacking. You’ve shaped them with alchemical steel but gave them no function. Is that all you’ve got?"

Tch. Does he know how much magic it takes to imbue alchemical creations with function? Oh, of course he does—he’s Gun-guk’s strongest alchemist.

If you lend me your magic, I’ll make something even better. I grumbled inwardly, then pulled out another card and asked,

"Want to see something else?"

"You’d better show me if you want to stay in one piece."

If that’s what you want, fine. Let’s start the magic show again...

But before I could, Maximilien reached out without warning. The massive steel hand moved to grab me. If I got caught, I’d end up looking like ground meat thrown into a shredder.

However, I was standing on the Steel Beetle, and the surface was made of gears. I could just rotate the gears to move like before...

Or so I thought, but the gears didn’t move. My body stumbled as my mind failed to keep up.

‘You won’t escape the same way twice. Just as you stopped my gears, I can stop the ones you’re trying to move.’

He’s fast at reading the situation and adapting. Even though he has overwhelming power, he’s slowly narrowing down my choices and pressing me. In the blink of an eye, the steel hand filled my vision. Whether I was struck or grabbed, it would mean severe injury or worse. I had to dodge, but I had lost control of the gears and was still staggering.

With the plan falling apart, my delayed reaction was a fatal mistake. In a fight against a strong opponent, even a brief hesitation is deadly. I missed the only chance I had to avoid danger, and the steel hand swept across my body...

‘Is this the end?’

No, now is the chance.

Feigning carelessness and with my vision obscured, I reached out.

Before me lay hundreds of gears. Many were just added to increase the destructive power, but some were critical to the structure. If you didn’t know what you were looking at, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. But I knew exactly which one to target, thanks to reading the designer's mind.

I pulled out a card.

The ace of diamonds—a pickpocket’s skewer. Held in reverse and angled downward, I stabbed it into the gap between the gears. It slipped between the gears, but the pressure from the steel arm bent it like a fishing rod before it snapped out. Blood dripped from my hand, torn by the effort, but one of the gears came loose. Beneath the surface, the internal framework was exposed.

This is just like pickpocketing. You strip away the shell and go straight for the most valuable part. Without a second thought, I reached inside.

Maximilien may control the gears at will, but if that's all he can do, they’ll just keep spinning uselessly. To exert real power, he needs a point of support.

Naturally, that support is his body, and to ensure that, he embedded gears throughout it.

In other words, that steel arm is connected to his body.

Which means I can destroy his body through the gears.

Got it.

The gears roared. A wave of steel crashed into me. I could stop the rotation, but I couldn’t eliminate inertia. The momentum of the moving steel slammed into my body.

If I were even slightly slower, my entire body would be crushed. But before that happened...

My fingers touched the core structure.

A hand made to mimic the human body. The skeletal framework ran from the extremities to the center, and my power reversed the flow of Maximilien’s magic. One by one, the moving gears ground to a halt. Fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder... all the joints and mechanisms came to a stop. And that was the end of Maximilien’s steel arm.

But the gears didn’t stop.

To attach the prosthetic arm, Maximilien had scorched his flesh and embedded steel into his shoulder. There were gears on the surface where the prosthetic was connected, and from there, I caught the network of gears that extended through Maximilien’s entire body.

"Found it."

Even as the steel pressed down on me, I clenched my hand tightly.

Unique magic: Gear Maiden.

‘What’s happening? My senses...?!’

By the time he realized, it was too late.

I issued a command to every gear connected to me, including those within Maximilien’s body. A command as simple as it was powerful.

Turn in reverse. Until you break.

‘----!!!!’

The steel arm exploded.

The parts that made up the arm spun erratically in different directions. Disalignment, twisting, malfunction, and overdrive—every problem a machine could have happened all at once, and the steel arm shattered into thousands of pieces.

The steel arm that was about to crush me broke apart into countless gears that flew in all directions. Even though the pieces were small, they were all made of Level 3 alchemical steel. The dense metal tore my skin and struck my head. Some of the gears even climbed over my body.

The impact sent me flying backward. My back hit the ground hard, and my arms throbbed from the pressure. Even though the drug was still in effect, it felt like my body was screaming in response to the danger.

It’s fine.

Because I’m still alive.

The explosion of the steel arm in the last moment dispersed the force of the impact, sparing me from being crushed. My entire body aches, but that’s a far better outcome.

The problem is...

"Yes, I see it now! I finally understand!"

Maximilien was still alive.

I had failed.

Well, half-succeeded. His prosthetic arm was gone, and the exposed left side of his body was drenched in blood. The gears inside him had gone berserk, causing such extensive internal bleeding that it was visible through his skin.

But he wasn’t dead.

Maximilien had seen through my attempt and responded quickly. By severing the connection before the gears tore his body apart, he barely saved himself. And that reflexive response... what a monster.

He opened his mouth, and blood sprayed from his lips, but he was still alive.

"You can only control the gears you touch, can’t you?!"

Even on the brink of death, he figured out my weakness.

Just as I said before, my power requires a point of contact. I have to "touch" his gears to steal his ability, otherwise, I can’t use it.

Not that I’m going to admit it, though.

"That’s not true."

"Don’t try to deny it! If you could control the gears without touching them, my limbs would already be strangling me, just as you tried to do moments ago!"

Tch, he’s too sharp. More than anything, his ability to make quick decisions and act decisively in a short span is troublesome.

"You climbed onto the Steel Beetle for that reason, didn’t you? If you step off, the Steel Beetle will obey only my commands! You pretended to flee, but you moved the battlefield here on purpose! Am I wrong?"

There’s no denying it now. I nodded in acknowledgment.

"You didn’t become a Yukjangseong through brute force alone, unlike Historia."

"Haha! That’s my line! The Human King—though you’ve lost most of your power, you’re still a formidable opponent! It feels like I’m fighting myself!"

"I feel the same way. When it comes to the concept of gears, no one can surpass you."

I meant it.

He was growing with every moment. Maximilien had reached the pinnacle of humanity in terms of gears, and though it seemed like there was nowhere left to go, he was still advancing.

"In a world made of gears, you’re at the pinnacle of humanity. Every step you take is a step no one else has walked. When you open new horizons, they become domains conquered by humanity. But only in the field of gears."

It was the highest praise I could offer. It was also my genuine sentiment.

Maximilien listened with a blank expression for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha! How moving! I’ve never needed anyone’s recognition, yet this praise pleases me more than any other! Indeed, this is the Human King!"

"Well, I’ve been dethroned as humanity’s representative, so my endorsement doesn’t carry much weight."

"Then reclaim your power!"

"Haha, no thanks. Even if I did, I wouldn’t do it with you lot. Who knows what you’ll do to my body?"

Even if it’s someone’s wish, I won’t allow anyone to mess with my body. It’s the most basic instinct of any living being. The need to preserve oneself is still as strong as ever.

Before I’m the Human King, I’m still a beast.

"And there’s something else I need to tell you... but I’ll save it for the moment I’m about to kill you."

"You won’t get that chance. I’ve figured out your power. As long as I prevent you from getting close, that’s the end."

Maximilien awkwardly raised his remaining left arm, the prosthetic one. Click, click. As the arm reassembled itself, a long groove formed from the elbow to the back of the hand. The end opened up, forming a shape resembling a crossbow.

No, it was a crossbow.

A small gear automatically rolled into place and settled into the groove. As Maximilien gave the order, the tiny gear began to spin rapidly. The sound was unnervingly loud, considering how small the gear was. If it accelerated along the groove, it would fire at me with a speed comparable to a bolt.

Maximilien aimed the makeshift crossbow at me.

"Can you use bullet-deflecting Qi? No matter. I have plenty of rounds, so I’ll just keep firing until you’re out of energy. Now, if you have any last words, spill them."

I don’t have the energy to use Qi, and yet he’s threatening me with a gun. What a fine way to hold a conversation.

Grumbling to myself, I shuffled the cards in my hand. One diamond, ten clovers. Eleven cards in total, forming a deck.

"Nope. A magician should never reveal his tricks, even with a blade at his throat. So I won’t tell you either—unless, of course, you’re someone like Lieutenant General Evon."

Maximilien remembered Lieutenant General Evon, a prominent figure in Gun-guk. He asked,

"Evon, you say? A familiar name. I heard he perished in the Abyss..."

But he trailed off. As he pieced together the information, Maximilien glared at me with cold, piercing eyes.

"So when you said ‘someone with a tight-lipped nature,’ you meant someone who’s about to die. Did you kill him?"

"I didn’t kill him, but I was there. If you’d like me to deliver your eulogy, just die by my hand. I’ll recite it all the way until you’re dead."

"...On the other hand, I could torture you until you spill everything."

"An admirable mindset. Go ahead, give it a try."

With those words, I grabbed the top card with both hands and pulled.

The queen of diamonds. The Queen of Fabric.

It was as if a blanket, impossibly small, unfolded before me. I wrapped the Queen of Fabric around myself like a cloak. The soft texture enveloped me.

The Queen of Fabric. Warmer, sturdier, and more concealing than any other fabric. But that’s not all. If it were just that, it wouldn’t deserve the title of "Queen." Its true power lies in its ability to trap magic. Even if that magic takes the form of light, it can completely contain it. So much so that it can create a pitch-black darkness for vampires who loathe the light.

As I fastened the cloak, I declared,

"I’ll give it my all in resisting you."