The Greatest Fight [progression cultivation isekai]

Thero, the Robot

The Sunflower and his friend were finally able to meet with some of the local leaders; drops of saliva flew onto their faces as they screamed their dissatisfaction at them.

"We should have never put you in charge," said one of them.

"You focus on the streets; we said that we will focus on the ball. We spent the day getting ready for it. You are going to just have to trust us on this," Roa tried to reason with them, as they stormed out and slammed the door.

Outside, the situation grew worst. The fighting became not only more frequent, but also more deadly. Fearing the loss of control over the populace, the police began to let loose. The protesters on their end, tired of years of abuse and hardship, responded with equal force. The officers were well equipped and organized, but the people were many—and scared, hungry animals fight for their lives, not for paychecks or promotions.

"Stoke the fires of revolution, brothers and sisters. The time has come to free ourselves from these monsters at last," shouted the Sunflower, standing on top of a fallen statue, speaking to the wild crowd. "How many times have they come knocking on your doors, squandering your taxes, destroying your happiness, and even taking your loved ones? Well—tonight we will be the ones who will come knocking!" The old days, spent in endless stress and boredom, stuck in front of a screen in a cubicle, now seemed so distant to the boy, as if they had always been just some—distant dream. "We will be the ones in control, finally, for power comes from, belongs to, and shall always return—to the people!" The present moment felt much more real to the Sunflower than his old life ever did. It felt right—it felt profoundly right. "I ask you to risk your lives, not for the sake of your anger against an enemy who has hurt you for so long, but for the sake of something greater than yourselves."

"What's that?" yelled a random person.

"A simple, yet sacred promise," said the Sunflower, "the promise of a better world, yet to come." The crowd cheered. "There are no clans, no neighborhoods, no races, no classes tonight. In this darkness, we fight as One!" he screamed, raising a white flag covered in many, colorful handprints, as the people chanted, over and over again, "as One."

"Hey—you up there, hero guy! Suppress your aura, even when you think you're safe," said some girl below with orange hair, as she took a gas mask off her face. "They're always watching. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they don't see you," she continued, resting a chainsaw unto her shoulder. She winked and smiled, and Roa leapt down.

"You're—"

"Yup—I'm one of the Free Ones, baby. C-Saw is my nickname. I heard of the situation here from some Jumpers in some world I was passing through. I knew I had to be here for it, even to just—mess some stuff up," she explained.

"Good—we need you at the government building then. Does that thing work?" asked the boy, pointing at her chainsaw.

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She let it rip on her shoulder without flinching.

"You know—I think it does," she smirked.

"Good. Then use it to cut the chains of the perimeter of the governor's building, and let the people flood inside. Cause as much havoc as you can, and keep the police busy all night. Got it?"

"You got it—and you? What will you do?" she asked, tilting her head and smiling with a playful nature.

"We're going to have ourselves a ball," he responded in a dead serious tone.

It was now almost 7:40 PM, and after running around the city for the rest of the day, they took a moment to rest before the operation would begin. They sat down on the beach of Tar Lake, as the darkness of night finally came, revealing the lights of the party in the middle of the water. Neither said a word. Rosso's foot fidgeted, while Roa was busy biting his finger nails. The nerve-wrecking silence was interrupted by a series of beeps.

"Update complete."

They looked at each other, confused. Rosso pulled out the strange metal ball he had found in the prison, and shook it.

"Please do not shake the hardware," said a mechanical, monotone voice.

"What are you?" he asked after a pause.

"I am Thero. Thank you for turning me back on. I am a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence machine. I am capable of complex feelings and thoughts, and can record vast amounts of information. My creator designed me to attack Oilworxx's software. Mother wrote in my code a strong desire to fight against the destruction of the world, and the oppression of the people," it explained, hovering in front of their faces, swaying gently back and forth as the light flickered in its glass dome.

"Is that aura in there?" asked Rosso, tapping on the glass.

"I'm not an aquarium—please avoid tapping on the hardware. My mother gave me some of her energy when she created me—her aura. I have been listening to your conversations in the past days. I believe that you are like she was—Free. Would you like me to help you in tonight's operation?" asked Thero.

The two looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure—what can you do?" asked Roa.

The machine whirred and responded after a few calculations.

"I can fly to the middle of the lake and gather intelligence. Completion time: around 68 minutes, at 8:48 PM. Do you accept?"

"Yes..."

The ball blasted away towards the dark waters, and disappeared.

The two walked along the deserted beach in silence.

"All these poor animals," the boy murmured, picking up a seagull struggling on the ground. Gently, he tried to wipe the oil from its wings, but his breath caught as he glanced back up, freezing in place.

"Are you—also seeing this?" he said, as some apparition floated in front of him.

"Yeah..." said Rosso slowly, his eyes wide open.

"Who are you?" the boy asked.

A massive, feathered serpent hovered a few meters above them. Its multicolored scales glimmering like a rainbow under the streetlights as water dripped from its body, each drop hissing and steaming as it touched the ground.

"You are not like the others, Human," it spoke, its voice wise and ancient.

The boy looked down at the bird he was holding.

"It's just the right thing to do. All life deserves respect—no matter how small," he replied, as the serpent watched him with golden, piercing eyes.

"We are the Kami of the storm that is approaching. Our once pure drops have now turned to acid, thanks to Humanity's errors."

The two looked at the dark lake as lightning flickered on the horizon, past the glowing lights of the ships.

"Your heart is heavy with worry. What is it that you seek?" it asked.

The Sunflower thought about it, and then took a deep breath.

"Tonight is a very important night. We attack those who have kept Humanity in chains—those who have destroyed Nature. We need to get to those lights there—without the enemy seeing us. We must win tonight, at all costs," the boy responded with confidence.

The serpent gazed at the distance, and the lightning began to intensify.

"Then we shall help you, righteous one, " it said, coiling onto itself and vanishing.