MEMELAND

Finding Noah was surprisingly easy.

Apparently there weren't many engineers who yelled at twenty workers simultaneously while fixing machinery with their own hands.

After asking around for nearly an hour—

Every road eventually pointed toward the same warehouse.

The same engineer.

The same name.

Noah.

Kai and Andre entered through a massive side entrance.

The sound hit them immediately.

Metal.

Machinery.

Workers.

Construction.

The entire building felt alive.

And at the center of it—

A man stood atop a scaffold.

Holding a wrench.

Shouting.

"No, that's the left support beam!"

"LEFT!"

"The other left!"

A worker looked confused.

Another worker looked confused.

Noah looked disappointed.

Then he noticed Andre.

Silence.

The wrench slipped from his hand.

It bounced.

Hit a worker's helmet.

The worker shouted.

Nobody cared.

Noah jumped off the scaffold.

Several workers screamed.

He landed.

Perfectly.

Then stared.

Andre stared back.

Several seconds passed.

Then Noah pointed.

"...Andre?"

Andre grinned.

"Noah."

Silence.

Then Noah walked over.

Raised a fist.

Andre raised one too.

The two bumped fists.

Simple.

No dramatic reunion.

No tears.

No emotional speeches.

Just two old friends meeting again.

Then Noah immediately ruined it.

"Why are you here?"

Andre pointed at the giant machine behind him.

"Why are YOU here?"

"Fair."

Kai watched the exchange.

Then Noah finally noticed him.

"And who's this?"

"Kai."

"The new drifter."

Noah blinked.

"Oh."

Then extended a hand.

Kai shook it.

Noah nodded.

"Nice to meet you."

"You arrived at a terrible time."

Kai immediately believed him.

Then Noah turned.

And pointed behind him.

The GFR.

For the first time—

Kai properly saw it.

And froze.

The machine was enormous.

Towering over the warehouse.

Two giant mechanical legs supported its frame.

The armor plating reflected the workshop lights.

Its torso looked heavily reinforced.

Two massive arms extended from its sides.

One ended in a gigantic claw.

The other ended in another claw.

Yet even from here—

Kai could see joints and mechanisms hidden throughout the limbs.

This thing transformed.

Modified itself.

Adapted.

It wasn't simply a giant machine.

It was a weapon.

Noah crossed his arms proudly.

"Finished."

Kai blinked.

"Finished?"

Noah nodded.

"Completely."

Andre looked toward him.

"That's bad."

Noah immediately shook his head.

"No."

"It's good."

Then pointed toward himself proudly.

"I made improvements."

That somehow made everybody more nervous.

Noah walked around the machine.

Pointing as he explained.

"The left arm."

The giant claw shifted slightly.

Mechanical components unfolded.

Metal rotated.

The claw transformed.

A gigantic drill emerged.

Kai stared.

Noah smiled.

"The right arm."

More mechanisms moved.

The second claw shifted.

Opened.

Expanded.

Internal components aligned.

A massive cannon appeared.

Noah looked proud.

"Magic railgun."

Kai had no idea what that meant.

Andre didn't either.

Noah noticed.

Then sighed.

"Basically."

"It gathers concentrated magic."

"Compresses it."

"Accelerates it using electromagnetic fields."

"Then fires it."

Kai nodded.

Pretending he understood.

Andre nodded.

Also pretending.

Noah pointed at them.

"You don't understand."

"No."

"Nope."

"I figured."

Then Noah led them toward a large blueprint table.

Several pages had been spread out.

Detailed notes covered every surface.

Kai noticed something.

"The blueprints."

Noah nodded.

"I made copies."

That got Andre's attention.

"You did?"

"Of course."

"What kind of idiot spends months working on something without backups?"

Nobody answered.

Because everyone knew many people who would.

Noah tapped the blueprints.

"I improved them."

"Fixed structural weaknesses."

"Improved energy efficiency."

"Enhanced weapon systems."

Andre slowly turned toward Kai.

"This is why we don't let him design things."

Noah ignored him.

Then suddenly smiled.

"Fortunately."

Everyone relaxed.

Then Noah continued.

"It doesn't work."

Everyone relaxed further.

"What?"

Noah pointed toward the machine.

"The power source."

"The original design requires something impossible."

Kai frowned.

"What kind?"

Noah looked toward the cockpit area.

Then pointed behind it.

"There."

A reinforced chamber.

Sealed.

Protected.

Vacuum insulated.

Multiple layers of armor surrounded it.

"The catalyst chamber."

"The starting core."

Andre crossed his arms.

"And?"

"And I don't have one."

Noah shrugged.

Simple.

Like that solved everything.

Kai waited.

Noah continued.

"The startup demand is ridiculous."

"Once active, the machine can sustain itself."

"Mana absorber modules."

"Conversion generators."

"Amplification systems."

"It only uses a fraction of the gathered power."

"It becomes self-sustaining."

Kai nodded.

That sounded useful.

Noah then pointed at the chamber again.

"But first?"

"It needs a jumpstart."

"A huge one."

Andre frowned.

"What kind of power?"

Noah thought.

Then answered.

"Lost technology from Oheyo would work."

Nobody liked hearing that.

"Oheyo?"

Noah nodded.

"Or..."

He paused.

Thinking.

"Maybe a giant demon core."

Kai froze.

Andre froze.

Noah continued.

"They're absurdly rare though."

"Most break after the demon dies."

"Even if somebody had one..."

He shrugged.

"Good luck."

Silence.

The warehouse suddenly felt colder.

Kai and Andre slowly looked at each other.

A giant demon.

Yggdrasil.

The blue demon.

Pieces began connecting.

One by one.

Kai whispered.

"But the core broke when I punched it..."

Followed up with.

"Is it possible to repair Demon cores Noah?."

Then Noah thought for a moment and replied with.

"Yeah it is possible but requires smaller demon cores, and to be honest it'd be a waste of resources."

Kai and Andre for a moment deep in thought.

Which was a miracle because who know Andre would be able to think so deeply.

Noah noticed.

"...Why do you both look worried?"

Nobody answered.

Then—

A voice echoed through the warehouse.

"Well said."

The room froze.

Workers stopped.

Noah turned.

Andre turned.

Kai turned.

The voice came from the entrance.

Calm.

Amused.

Familiar.

Far too familiar.

And whoever it belonged to—

Already knew exactly how to power the GFR.