The work on construction sites usually begins very early, and today Anton arrived with the material-handling machine Hans to clear a section inside a Hollow.
According to the person on duty last night, it seemed that something fell in the middle of the night and made a very loud noise. But considering it happened inside a Hollow, he didn't dare go out to check—what ifan Ethereal suddenly emerged from somewhere?
"Don't worry. Hans and I will go take a look first. If there's no problem, I'll come back and inform you all." Anton rolled his shoulders, and the good brother mounted on his left arm responded with a faint tremor.
"Got it, Big Bro Anton! I'll go with ya!" The four-legged material-handling machine strode forward. "Ever since I started trainin' hard with Big Bro Anton every day, I feel like I've already become an excellent manly man. Even if I run into an Ethereal, I definitely won't back down!"
"Good job, little brother. That's the spirit of a man!"
Anton extended his right hand, bumping fists with Hans's bucket. It was hard to imagine how this man and an industrial material-handler developed such deep brotherhood. But everyone at Belobog Heavy Industries was long used to it—Big Bro Anton was always bursting with energy and fighting spirit. As for the machine… well, it was probably one of Miss Grace's masterpieces.
Compared to the other two machines—one a hopeless romantic and one a full-blown chuunibyou—Hans was actually the relatively normal and human-like one.
Although this area was also scheduled for demolition, the engineering team hadn't progressed this far yet. Anton remembered this place used to be a residential complex, but now one of the buildings had vanished, replaced entirely by rubble.
What on earth could have fallen hard enough to crush an entire building?
And a number of Ethereals had gathered around the site, likely drawn in by the commotion. The hot-blooded Anton bumped his fists together. Anyone causing trouble on Belobog Heavy Industries' turf should be prepared for a beating. He wasn't soft-spoken like Ben Bigger.
The impact drill on his left arm trembled slightly, as if warming up. Anton had just finished maintenance on his "brother" yesterday, so it was probably itching to go.
"Ready, Hans? Show me what a man like you has learned lately!" Anton leaped onto the machine's back and patted its mechanical arm.
Hans clashed its claws and bucket together in response. "Big Bro Anton! I got scared last time by those Ethereals, but not today! I'll help ya pound every one of those pests messin' with everyone's work!"
"Good spirit. That's exactly the attitude you need!" Anton patted Hans twice, then gave the order: "Let's move! Time to show them our combo attack!"
The four-legged heavy engineering machine charged toward the rubble pile, its claw grabbing a chunk of debris and hurling it toward the enemy. Although attacking first like this was a little underhanded and not very hot-blooded, the blow crushed a Hati flat.
The attacked Ethereals spotted the orange-yellow machine approaching on four legs and rushed toward it.
Hans had been terrified during its last entry into a Hollow, but after Anton's training in the ways of manliness—which was basically everyday work and constant encouragement—it had grown into a mature man. The four-legged handler swung its hydraulic arms, and the huge bucket swept several Tyrfings away, smashing them to pieces.
"Never back down before an enemy." Anton's brother on his arm vibrated violently, proud of the little one's growth. "Hans, right now, you shine like a true man!"
"Big Bro Anton! I'm gonna keep gettin' stronger—until I'm just like you!"
The massive handler machine shouted strange declarations as it launched into a heated assault. Its heavy metal body powered by ether-electric drive surged with force, the bucket and claws striking in sequence. The small Ethereals couldn't get close before being smashed apart into piles of broken ether crystals.
Suddenly, something grabbed its bucket—a fierce Farbauti, its ether crystals already darkened. That meant this Ethereal had existed long enough to accumulate a considerable amount of ether energy and combat experience, making it extremely tough to handle.
"Big Bro Anton! The boss showed up!" Hans called through its voice system, slamming its giant claw downward. But the enemy's ether armor was incredibly sturdy; the claw only scraped off sparks and failed to cause real damage.
"Leave that one to me!" Anton roared as the impact drill spun up. "Brother—together!"
Belobog Heavy Industries' field leader sprinted along Hans's mechanical arm. In just seconds he was already face-to-face with the Farbauti. His left-arm impact drill howled, the W-Engine inside boosting its output and going into overclock. The reinforced drill head spun at high speed with powerful ether drive, the motor howling.
"Let our roar reach the heart of the earth!" Anton shouted, leaping from the machine's arm with his left arm raised high, driving the spinning drill toward the Farbauti.
Hans cooperated perfectly, using its massive claw to pin down the Farbauti's other arm, preventing it from defending.
Sparks burst and arcs scattered as Anton's "brother" unleashed a beastlike roar. The thick crystallized armor on the giant Ethereal began to crack—first a small piece broke off, then a large chunk, then the impact drill bellowed its triumph as it punched through the armor entirely, tearing into the soft inner structure and ripping the creature apart.
Anton had first stood atop the Farbauti's shoulder. After breaking open its shell, he slid down its back as his "brother" tore the giant Ethereal in half.
"Good brother, your voice is as magnificent as ever today!" Anton said, excitedly patting the impact drill as the Farbauti's body slowly dissolved into ether particles.
But more Ethereals remained around them. The Farbauti's death didn't intimidate them, and they charged forward.
"Hans! Time to show them what you've really got today!" Anton yelled, charging into the horde.
"Big Bro Anton! No matter where ya go, I'll follow ya! I'll fight like a real man!" Hans clamped a chunk of rubble in its claw and smashed a cluster of Alpecas to mush.
The workers of Belobog Heavy Industries sighed as they continued their work—Big Bro Anton was as hot-blooded as ever. Everyone was already used to it; their warm-hearted big brother always charged headfirst whether it was work or fighting Ethereals.
Still… it would be nice if he took better care of himself. Word was he'd recently bought a lot of Joe's sports-injury medicine.
After the man-and-machine duo cleared the entire site of Ethereals, Anton wiped the sweat from his forehead and hung his jacket—previously over his shoulder—onto Hans's chassis.
"Alright. Let's take a look at what exactly smashed this place into such a state." Anton climbed atop the ruins. "Hans, get to work."
"Yes, Big Bro Anton!" Hans replied with boundless energy as it began digging through the debris with its bucket.
The collapsed residential building formed a small hill of rubble. Under Hans's guidance, the handler worked systematically, removing debris, lifting what the bucket couldn't handle with its claws. Soon Anton discovered a large hole—unfortunately buried under more debris, making it hard to see inside. He remembered that below was the underground parking garage. The garage ceiling should've been extremely sturdy. According to the documents they received before the project began, the underground garage had some civil-defense capability—meaning it was reinforced with extra steel rebar and high-grade concrete.
Yet the ceiling had been punched through despite the entire building falling first and absorbing most of the impact. What kind of thing could fall with that much force?
After Hans widened the hole, more light entered, and Anton could barely make out the bottom.
A large amount of rubble covered the underground garage. Fortunately, whatever fell didn't continue deeper into the ground—the floor stopped it, though the concrete slab had clearly buckled.
Amid the rubble, something bright yellow was visible—something like an outer shell. There were also cables attached to it, damaged and leaking some kind of fluid.
"Big Bro Anton, I'm detecting elevated radiation levels," Hans said nervously. "My electronic systems aren't functioning right—my body's movin' a bit sluggish."
"Hans, we're heading back first." Anton jumped onto the machine. "Looks like some sort of machine down there. We need Grace to examine it. She'll know how to handle this."
Grace, who had been directing the tunneling machine Grant at another site, immediately handed her duties to Ben upon hearing Anton had found an unknown mechanical device.
"Anton! What kind of child is it?" Grace kept asking the whole way.
"Can't see clearly. Buried under the garage. We'll need to dig it out first." Anton repeated for the umpteenth time. "It's radioactive, and Hans's functions were affected. Shouldn't you prepare a protective suit?"
"That can wait. First I need to see if it's Old Capital machinery." Grace's hands were trembling uncontrollably. After the Old Capital's fall, many machines disappeared forever—today they might have found a precious relic.
Of course, machines of that era had no intelligent industrial mechanization—everything required human operation. But that was fine; the Iron Witch could install a logic core herself.
What kind of child will it be…?
The Iron Witch trembled with excitement, already imagining the future.