Faced with Grace's barrage of questions, Ignis was utterly stunned. A Leviathan Dreadnought is only deployed where brains were blasted across battlefields—he had never actually seen one in action. His Chapter did have several resting in the Armory, but none of their battles ever required the Chapter Master to awaken such ancient and honored brothers.
The Leviathan—a war machine named after a beast from ancient scripture—cost as much as a full Imperial Knight suit. As a Primaris Astartes, he wouldn't have recognized it himself had he not served as a Cloudbreaker before.
"It's a pure war engine," Ignis explained, trying to keep things simple enough for Grace to grasp its importance. "A bipedal mech built for extreme-intensity combat. Its cost is equivalent to… dozens of your industrial smart-mechs. As for what it fights—if we take my combat power as the baseline? Probably a hundred well-armed troops. Full light and heavy weaponry, complete personnel support, solid tactical command. With all that combined, they might—maybe—inflict this level of damage."
Belobog Heavy Industries had seen Ignis stop a rampaging industrial mech with his bare hands; meaning that a fully functional Leviathan, fighting properly, could probably squash an Ultra-class Hollow creature without much difficulty.
Grace, hearing this, grew visibly thrilled. A machine strong enough to confront Ultra-class Hollows head-on. If she could understand its structure and replicate it, Hollows might finally be solved at their root.
"What about the person inside? Is that the pilot? Why does he appear to be missing a right hand and foot?" Grace pressed on. "This mech looks tougher than a Typhon. It's exactly my ideal type."
"As powerful as the Leviathan is," Ignis said solemnly, "what truly makes it a killing machine is the ancient warrior interred inside the sarcophagus." He didn't know the veteran's name or Chapter rank, but anyone deemed worthy of a Leviathan was unquestionably a hero deeply beloved by his brothers.
It was said only those of unbreakable will could endure the Leviathan's mental torment.
"In our tradition, a warrior who has lost his ability to fight, yet possesses great honor and experience, is entombed within such machines. His body is sustained by nutrient fluids, and when not needed, the mech and the warrior sleep. Their wisdom guides every recruit—Captains and even Chapter Masters must treat them with respect."
Ignis placed a hand on the Leviathan's leg.
"They are living history—true legends. A Leviathan is the pinnacle among them. This one comes from a more distant, bloodier age. He must have rendered immense service to humanity, and in one glorious battle sustained fatal wounds, earning the right to this harsh, priceless machine.
"A veteran like that is the Dreadnought's true strength." Ignis turned to Grace. "Is he still alive?"
"Ultrasound can't tell. But infrared shows faint thermal traces—so he should be alive." Grace, hearing Ignis describe the pilot with such reverence, calmed down.
She circled behind the Leviathan. "I removed the back armor and took out the ruined power reactor. Could it be that without power, his life-support stopped?"
Ignis stepped beside her. It was one thing to see Ben's messages—it was another to witness it.
The back of the Dreadnought was open, the entire power system removed. It looked like a corpse with its organs taken out. The disconnected cables and pipes resembled torn veins.
Even Tech-priests found Leviathan maintenance troublesome. How had she completely disassembled a machine revered as an heirloom in every Chapter?
Is she blessed by the Emperor like me? Ignis thought. The Omnissiah Himself would bow to her.
As he stood there in awe, Billy wandered over.
"Oh? Now that's a big one!" The robot exclaimed. "I've heard of ancient relics and giant turtles being dug up, but Belobog really outdid themselves—this time it's a giant robot!"
He knocked on the Leviathan's armor—clang, clang.
"Looks like a super-sentai final boss. Awesome!"
Ignis nearly had a heart attack—even though he technically had two. If Billy woke the entombed veteran by knocking, the result would be catastrophic.
He needed Billy away. Immediately.
"Billy, I need a favor." Ignis improvised. "Go buy some scented candles. I'll send the address."
"Huh? Why? Do you know how hard it is to park near the mall? Two hours and you might not find a spot."
"I'll buy you limited-edition Starlight Knight merch. Any one you want."
"Deal!"
Billy bolted out. Within a minute, the truck was already heading toward the city center.
"Why send him for candles? And—can I take apart that robot named Billy for research?" Grace asked.
"You can ask Billy himself." Ignis replied. "As for the candles—reviving the pilot requires certain rituals. We don't have either a Techmarine, Apothecary, Chaplain, or Captain here, but we must try. Maybe the veteran can be awakened."
He shifted back to repairs. "With the reactor gone, what's your plan? Can it be fixed?"
Grace opened her tablet, displaying schematics.
"The original nuclear reactor uses technology we can't replace here. Nuclear power's long outdated—Ethereal-drives are cleaner and more durable. Worse, the Leviathan's reactor had no shielding. The pilot was exposed to radiation for years."
She scrolled to her repair concept.
"Fortunately, there's enough internal space. I plan to replace the power system with the same drives my sweet children use. If one isn't enough, we'll use two. Power output will drop, but calculations show it can still move."
"As for the arms—they're beyond repair. Completely foreign materials. But we can install my children's engineering arms. They won't hit as hard as before, but for building demolition and Hollow smashing? More than enough."
"That sounds expensive," Ignis remarked.
Money meant little to Grace; her research budget was always abundant—though she had no idea how hard Ben worked to secure it.
"It's fine. The fragments and unique parts give me tons of research material. And this entire modification is research. If we find more Old Capital machines in Hollows later, this will guide future restoration. If we use our own manufactured parts, cost can be counted purely at materials, and the rest allocated to R&D."
Her eyes shone with excitement. "I want to see it move—the way this powerful body walks!"
"But remember, there's still a pilot inside," Ignis warned. "Everything must be approved by him. If he regains mobility and dislikes what you've done… well, he could do a lot. He's a highly respected veteran. Treat him with absolute respect."
"To be honest, I hope he stays," Koleda said, joining them. "Repairing this thing isn't cheap, and if he's willing to assist with construction, he'd be valuable. Only three industrial mechs are handling demolition. We'll need more heavy machines when rebuilding begins."
"If you convince him to stay, I doubt Ben will complain about cost," she added. "Grace can research freely without delaying construction."
Grace nearly jumped with joy. "Yes! Mr. Ignis, please convince him to stay! If he wants his original arms and weapons back, I'll do everything to repair them!"
Quad-linked Leviathan Storm Cannon and Leviathan Siege Claws… if Grace truly rebuilt those, things would get interesting.
Considering New Eridu's materials science, and the strength of Ether-alloys… it might not even be impossible.