The Ultimate Support Character

The Armor Peripherals Storage Building is composed of at least 100 floors.

If someone looked at it from the ground, you would see how it extended until it almost reached the aquamarine blue-domed ceiling above.

Regardless, it's not the tallest building here in Atlantis. There's the tallest one that was located in the middle and that's most likely the Main Administration Building where important files were being sorted and kept. However, that place probably didn't contain a vault or even the place where the Central Processing Unit of the Automatons.

Those were all for administrative affairs, it's too obvious from its name.

With me leading the five women, we entered the front entrance by foot.

It's actually a thick glass door that was transparent enough to see the interior of the place.

Just a few steps from the entrance, a group of Silver Automatons were lined up neatly with an electric baton and a pistol-like hot weapon hung around their waists. They're also wearing clothes reminiscent of security uniforms.

It's easy to guess that they're a lot different from the Silver Automatons we encountered until now.

Apart from that group of at least twenty Silver Automatons, one Gold Automaton that was also different from what we encountered was standing in front of what could be seen as an elevator.

Unlike the Silver Automatons who had a baton and a pistol; both melee and range weapons, the Gold Automaton who's standing guard at that place only has a thick and long paddle-like weapon slung behind him.

The Gold Automaton didn't have any ranged weapons. However, it surely had another mode when the threat in front of it escalated to the point that it wouldn't be able to defeat the threat using just his paddle.

As for the interior of the place, apart from the thick glass door where we're going to pass through, everything was closed off inside. There are no windows and the walls seemed to be made durable enough that even a Rank 3 Transcendent wouldn't be able to put a dent on it.

There's only one reception desk in the middle of the place but there's no receptionist.

Apart from that, there's like a barricade separating half of the floor into two.

The first half was the front entrance that was being guarded by the 20 Silver Automatons until the reception desk where one could possibly inquire when this place was still operating.

And the other half was that place where the supposed elevator was located. Naturally, there were two more doors that seemed to lead for the stairs and two more glass doors at the west and east side that would probably lead to some conference room or something else.

Either way, since this was just the ground floor, there's probably no Storage Room here that would be storing defective inventions or raw materials to improve those defective Armor-type inventions.

Who knows? Perhaps, Reinys' cape was already improved. If not then… we'll just take more of it if there were any.

"Halt! Show identification."

As soon as we stepped foot inside the building, the 20 Silver Automatons moved and blocked our way before they simultaneously said that in their mechanical voices.

However, because we're not really here to walk in peace, I immediately moved and used my Energy Control to produce a wave of Energy to topple all 20 of the Automatons.

Naturally, that wasn't enough to disable them. I only broke open their formation that was hinting my Adaptability with a yellow warning sign.

They're dangerous together but now that they all couldn't stand up properly, that sense of danger disappeared.

"Failed to show identification. Intruders. Going into Level 5 Threat. Using Lethal Force to subjugate the intruders."

And once again, the 20 clothed Silver Automatons said in chorus with their kinda cracked mechanical voices.

Perhaps it was their setting, the Gold Automaton that was standing guard at the elevator remained in its position as if what's happening on this side doesn't concern him.

Well, that's good too because that one, despite only having the strength of a peak Rank 2 Transcendent, my Adaptability was marking it as red. It's stronger than even myself.

It's a special Gold Automaton unlike those we first encountered that I could easily disable.

"Avelin, go!" I shouted.

From behind me, the innocent girl immediately pulled out her Greataxe that had the hint of consciousness like my Willful Sword and dashed towards the toppled clothed Silver Automatons.

"Inca! Help me again!" She called out the name she gave the consciousness that developed in her axe and smashed down a pure physical attack.

CRASH!

Even though the walls could probably withstand the attack of a Rank 3 Transcendent or higher, the floor was another story.

With the wind generated by that attack and the overwhelming force of her Strength and Endurance, the place where the 20 Silver Automatons were lying down exploded from below.

Although it's probably not at the level of how my Willful Sword could take on the form of the Dark Azure Lightning Dragon, her greataxe, Inca, could emphasize its dominating appearance as a pure Physical Weapon.

It's like those Martial Artists from that World of Martial Arts where I sent an Incarnation and helped Yotsuki close the portal, The Greataxe Inca wasn't leaking any Source Energy that Avelin was channeling to it.

And even without activating any of her skills, the innocent girl's brute strength could be said as unrivalled even to my other Companions who had higher Strength and Endurance stats.

That's how mystifying the different Pathways are. It still depended on the individual on which part he or she would excel and her chosen Pathways were supporting it.

Following Avelin, Elise also moved out her Flamebird merging with her body, her golden hair shone brightly as the Golden Flames of the Flamebird transformed into something like an aura around her.

And behind her, wings of Golden Flames blazed elegantly.

While brandishing her weapon, she instantly targeted those airborne Silver Automatons to disable them.

Reinys, Dannae and Noelle then supported the two from behind until the battle ended spectacularly without any of those Silver Automatons managing to stand up and deal a counter-attack. Even the batons and pistol-like weapons on their waists were unused.

Naturally, I picked up all of those and sent them to my Necklace. I might not be able to use them but… those from EDA could make use of them. I could also send them to the World of Meta or in any other Mortal Worlds for them to analyze and reproduce the same thing.

For this battle that we were going to face, it's not only Earth who would become a target. The Dark World and perhaps the other Invasive World already had the coordinates of every Mortal World in them.

There's a high possibility that they would directly attack those worlds, not through the portal anymore.

Some might even steer their worlds towards those first before heading to Earth.

If that happened… the battlefield would shift there. The old fossils would move and the Transcendents we managed to pool in every connected world would be sent into battle.

However, whether we'll be there or not depends on if we can return as soon as possible.

Naturally, if it was either of the five Worlds where my Companions hailed from, we would surely be there to defend it.

After cleaning the floor of the disabled Silver Automatons, we began moving to the reception desk and the little gap that would allow us to pass towards the second half of this floor.

"Eh? Daisuke?"

As I was about to set foot and charge towards the Gold Automatons, I heard footsteps outside the building followed by that familiar voice.

Raiden, who was the vanguard of the group of Heroes and Transcendents appeared at the front door, following him were the same familiar faces of the Heroes and Transcendents that I sent inside this place.

"Master!"

And as if a wave that parted from the middle, the Transcendents and Heroes made way for Hikari to get to the front.

Upon seeing me, she ignored the disabled Silver Automatons or even the Gold Automaton that was still unmoving in front of the elevator to run towards me.

With an extremely elated smile plastered on her lips, Hikari jumped into my arms.

Since I expected what she's about to do, I already opened my arms to catch her.

"Hikari, aren't you going to be embarrassed showing this to our classmates?"

Even though I asked her that, my smile also didn't leave my face.

She's my Companion now, just like how I was happy seeing Avelin, Dannae and Noelle, I felt the same thing for this glasses girl who shamelessly clung onto me like a child to her parents.

"Why will I be embarrassed? They know that we're now in this kind of relationship. Either way, I was right in choosing this place as a destination, I found you." Grinning from ear to ear that was truly unlike how she presented herself when we first met at the World of Elements, Hikari just revealed that their appearance here was deliberate.

"I see. Good timing. Let me see the progress of your group. Take down that one." I pointed to the unmoving Gold Automaton.

Since they're here, I better see the strength of our Transcendent Forces.

As soon as the group of Heroes and Transcendents cast their eyes on the Gold Automaton, all of them swallowed their salivas.

Even if it's not exuding any Source Energy, they were aware of the horrors of a Gold Automaton.

They probably met some along the way. And seeing that some of them were injured, it wasn't an easy battle for them.