She Is Not Human

Chapter 18

The robot's raised arm froze mid-strike. It hadn't delivered the final blow. Why had the human collapsed? Had he finally died?

Its life-sign scanner swept over Max. Instantly, it went on high alert. Max was down, but not dead. Merely unconscious from blood loss. Moreover, a bizarre energy within him was accelerating his body's repair.

Kill him. Now.

As it prepared to strike, a cool, detached female voice spoke beside it: "Controller Three. It's you."

"Controller Three" of the Mechanical Space – a supreme entity among the highest echelons of robotic power. Only its peers could address it by that designation.

It swiveled instantly. Its red eyes flashed several times rapidly. Its visual feed focused on the girl who had appeared. Dark hair flowed around her face. Her eyes, a clear, luminous blue, scanned the debris-strewn hall as she walked steadily towards it.

"Controller Five. You are weak now." Controller Three stared at the faint pulse of cerulean light deep within her eyes, instantly recognizing the occupant of the girl's form.

Among the five Controllers of the Mechanical Space, each possessed a unique signature light. Three: Crimson. Five: Cerulean.

Maya lifted her hand, examining it dispassionately. "Correct."

"Therefore, you cannot stop me." Controller Three stated flatly. "Are you here to impede me? I execute the Absolute Will's command: eliminate humans who disrupt the established order."

Maya shook her head. "My task does not conflict with yours. I have no reason to impede you. I sensed a familiar presence. I came to investigate. It was you."

Controller Three nodded stiffly. "I also sensed familiarity. It was you. Since you do not impede me, stand aside."

Max had to be eliminated. Even in the moments they spoke, Controller Three sensed the human stirring towards consciousness. What terrifying regenerative ability!

Maya glanced at the fallen Max. A pity. She would have to find a new research subject.

She turned to leave, but her gaze snagged on something clutched tightly in Max's left hand. The energy crystal she wanted. Even unconscious, he held it fast. Surveying the wreckage, clearly he had fought Controller Three... yet he hadn't let go.

Why? Did he believe he could defeat Controller Three and retrieve it intact? Or... was he subconsciously holding onto it, determined to fulfill his promise to her?

Her step faltered. She stopped.

As Controller Three gathered its full power for the final strike, a shadow moved. Maya stood before it.

"You stated you would not impede me."

"I have reconsidered." Maya tilted her head to look up at the towering machine. Her voice remained calm. "This is my research subject. You cannot damage him."

"Negative. He is dangerous. I must execute the Absolute Will's command. Complete my task."

"I must also execute the Absolute Will's command. Complete my task." Maya showed no sign of yielding.

Controller Three's red eyes glowed with cold ferocity. "Then I will destroy this weak vessel first."

The liquid metal consciousness housing a Controller was near-indestructible. Even Controller Three could only target Maya's physical body.

A low THOOM resonated through the air, soundless yet carrying a force that threatened to burst hearts. Controller Three raised its massive mechanical arm and swung it down towards Maya with crushing force!

Maya didn't flinch. Only as the colossal hand filled her vision did she raise her own hands to meet it.

"Your current power cannot resist me." Controller Three was certain.

"You remain forgetful." Maya replied coolly, watching the arm halt abruptly mere inches from her. The black-red metal limb, capable of delivering tons of force, was frozen.

Where her palms met the machine's arm, fine filaments of metal streamed from within Maya, rapidly flowing into the mechanical limb, spreading upwards like liquid mercury.

Controller Three tried to move its arm, but it was locked. It simply tripled the force, pressing down like a collapsing mountain. Its voice dropped, becoming low and menacing: "Useless. I am Controller Three. My ability is Absolute Destruction!"

Indeed. Maya currently possessed only a human body. How could it withstand Absolute Destruction?

Maya's cerulean eyes blazed, the light within them threatening to burst forth. Delicate metal filaments, like ghostly tendrils, erupted from her body, weaving a dense net in the air around her. This net didn't block; it twisted, forcibly redirecting Controller Three's attack.

"You forget again," her voice, no longer passive, became coldly imperious, "I am Controller Five. My ability is Absolute Control!"

Three thousand meters from the Radiant Tower, a Phantom Sky-yacht hung suspended. Inside a luxurious cabin, the young elites who had narrowly escaped death were toasting raucously.

Only Thomas stood by the viewport, silent and grim. Dust still smudged his refined face, lending a touch of disarray, yet it couldn't diminish his detached aura. His gaze was distant, deep, filled with unspoken thoughts.

"Boss, what are you waiting for? Aren't we leaving?" one of the youths finally asked, unable to bear Thomas's stillness.

"Waiting for me?" A voice, hoarse yet smooth, came from the doorway. It phrased a question, but stated it as fact.

Cold-faced bodyguards in white suits parted. Thomas stepped forward. "We agreed on the operation. Why were you absent the entire time, Jack? We've collaborated before. Changing plans at the last minute... I believe you owe me an explanation."

"An explanation?"

The tall man in white leaned against the doorframe, a dangerously alluring smile playing on his lips. Unnatural color still flushed his cheeks, but his eyes were icy cold.

Ask for an explanation? Could he say he'd been outmaneuvered by an insignificant girl, left burning with unspent desire?

"Assess the situation first." Jack brushed past Thomas. Michael immediately stepped forward, handing him a long-range remote surveillance device.

Jack's evasion made Thomas frown, but he held his tongue. He stood beside Jack, peering at the monitor. Static and snow filled the screen. The energy beam connecting the Radiant Tower to the Mechanical Space hadn't dissipated; all electronic signals were scrambled.

"Can't see a damn thing!" Thomas complained.

Jack's smile widened, becoming more dangerously captivating, yet his tone was frosty. "Then activate the final measure."

"You're really going to blow the Radiant Tower?" Thomas gasped.

Meanwhile, those still trapped on the top floor remained unaware of the imminent peril.

The two Controllers faced off. Within the Human Space, Maya's presence was palpably weaker than Controller Three's, emanating from the Mechanical Space. Yet, the other could not bring its arm down, even when it commanded other nearby machine police units to converge and attack. Maya's Absolute Control was an invasive takeover of the enemy's form, seizing command at the deepest level. As long as her energy held, no machine body was immune.

"Controller Five, stand down!"

"You stand down!"

"All obstacles to my task... must perish!" The Controller's normally flat voice suddenly spiked. The machine police unit's eyes flared crimson again. The entire floor began to tremble violently. Under the unleashed fury of Controller Three's power, the ground spider-webbed with cracks.

The few remaining tables and chairs shuddered violently. Wiring buried in the walls exploded with terrifying CRACKS and POWS!

The air itself thickened with immense pressure as energy coalesced violently. Maya's human skin couldn't withstand it; fine lacerations opened across her flesh.

Nearby, other bottles knocked into corners by the tremors were struck by falling ceiling debris, cracking open. Two faint lights flickered weakly before dying. Other entities preparing to connect to this space through the bottles sensed the Controllers' auras and instantly withdrew.

However, within seconds, emerald green and dull yellow lights reconnected to the bottles. Two distinct voices emanated from other machine police units behind Controller Three.

"Controller Four! Quick, come see! Three and Five are at it again!" This mechanical voice lacked Three's icy severity and Five's detachment. It had a strangely human cadence, rising and falling.

"Hmm..." The response was pure, unadulterated lethargy.

CRASH!

Three machine police units moved simultaneously, attacking the unit housing Controller Three. The massive metal form was slammed violently into the floor, punching straight through to the level below.

"Look! Look! Three got knocked flying! Tsk tsk, Little Five's temper is as bad as ever!"

"Hmm..."

"I'm telling you, Four, wake up! I specifically hijacked this comms channel to watch. Why wasn't I assigned this task? What does Little Five know? Always tinkering with scrap metal."

"Hmm..."

"...Just go back to sleep!"

The already grim Controller Three, confronted by the increasingly noisy chatter, abruptly disengaged.

It withdrew its consciousness from all machine police units except one used for communication. The hall was now plunged into total darkness, all lighting and surveillance systems destroyed. Only the twin points of Controller Three's crimson machine eyes glowed like a predator's in the gloom, radiating concentrated killing intent.

Maya retracted her metal filaments. While her energy aura lingered, her skin emitted a soft, cerulean bioluminescence, an eerie, insect-luring glow in the blackness.

"Controller Five. My task is the elimination of all threats to the Mechanical Space."

"Yes. I know."

"That male is a threat."

"That is irrelevant to me." Maya stated dispassionately, already kneeling beside Max to examine his injuries. "My task does not encompass threat elimination."

One, Two, Three, Four, Five – each had their designated roles maintaining the Mechanical Space's order. Controller Three hadn't expected persuasion to work on Maya.

The machine police unit's red eyes remained fixed on Maya for a long, silent moment. Then, the light within them died. Simultaneously, the colossal beam of light piercing the sky abruptly faded, vanishing into the dark canopy.

"Hey, Controller Three! There's still time! Why'd you cut—"

The boisterous voice cut off abruptly, as if forcibly severed.

Maya touched Max's face. It was sticky with drying blood. His breathing was ragged and heavy. At her touch, his bloodied arm jerked up, fingers clutching weakly at the hem of her garment.

"Maya... Maya..."

Unconscious, his weak voice repeated the name etched on his soul.

Maya began to pry his fingers loose. Suddenly, she stopped. Her head lifted, scanning the surroundings. Her long, dark hair, which had been stirring in the high-altitude wind whistling through the shattered windows, now hung still and smooth.

Yet the broken glass hadn't magically repaired itself. They were still a kilometer up. The wind should be fierce.

An oppressive, dangerous feeling... and it was getting closer!

CRACK! c***k! c***k!

The walls and remaining pillars suddenly fissured, then exploded outward!

Maya's vision filled with blinding light once more. Every object seemed to warp violently. A roar like a thousand engines screamed in her ears, a powerful sonic wave blasting outwards!

This explosion dwarfed Lewis's earlier blast. Even the Radiant Tower, supposedly hardened against nuclear strikes, couldn't withstand it.

The machine police units that hadn't departed instantly deployed energy shields. However, still reeling from the residual influence of the Controllers, their autonomous judgment was impaired. The shields were weak, only emergency defenses.

Massive chunks of collapsing concrete and twisted girders hung suspended precariously above them, held in a fragile stasis by the shields. They could crash down at any second.

Trapped. Maya's liquid metal consciousness flowed internally, rapidly assessing the host body's data. The confrontation with Three had been a desperate bluff. This fragile vessel was at its absolute limit.

While the machine police shields had absorbed the worst of the blast wave and sonic assault, it was clear they wouldn't hold until the structure collapsed.

And she couldn't escape the tower in time.

What to do? She lacked the energy to seize control of a machine police unit now.

BOOM— The tower swayed more violently. Collapse was imminent.

Maya's gaze returned to Max's face. Her cerulean eyes fixed on him. His injuries were healing again, faster than any normal human.

Then... leave it to him.