Kishin Taidou Commentary

 Commentary

 

Jin Haganeya

Dear readers who have picked up this book.

If you happen to be a fan of my bad companion, [Demonbane], then let me recommend this with confidence. This [Fetus of the Machine God] is undeniably [Demonbane], truly [Demonbane], and it shall guide [Demonbane] to even greater realms.

If you happen to be a fan of my brother-in-arms [Hideyuki Furuhashi], then let me recommend this with equal confidence. This [Fetus of the Machine God] is undoubtedly [Hideyuki Furuhashi], precisely [Hideyuki Furuhashi], and it’s something that he, [Hideyuki Furuhashi], alone could ever depict.

And if you didn’t know either of these——may this encounter bring every possible blessing, or perhaps curses, to you all.

Words are magic. Stories are universes. The universe(world) of [Demonbane] created by [Hideyuki Furuhashi] will no doubt bind your heart, enchant you, and engrave an indelible mark of emotion upon your spirit.

Hideyuki Furuhashi is a peerless sorcerer——he’s just simply one of a kind(unique)!!

Greetings everyone, It’s been a while, or nice to meet you for the first time. It’s me, Jin Haganeya. Here, I am thrilled to announce——the grand debut of Demonbane’s side story [Fetus of the Machine God].

And what’s more, this time it was done by none other than Mr. Hideyuki Furuhashi. It’s absolutely incredible. No words can ever express how amazing it is.

I think those who know have probably been aware that [Demonbane] itself was heavily influenced by Mr. Furuhashi’s series, [Black Rod], in the first place.

Strange-looking city of Chaos Hexa. The shrieking minaret. The endless nights and never-ending festivals of the city’s bottom layers where hatred settled. An earthbound spirit that sipped the spiritual energy leaking out from the spirit track(cable). Carrying a huge Arcane Amplification Staff(Booster Rod), the Special Agent Black Staff(Black Rod), who could prospect everything with his Third Eye(Glam Sight), walked through the crowd of people with an intimidating air clad on him. The Black Rod roared. The Compression Spell(Notarick) was accelerated to the ultrasonic range. A [Spell Projectile(Bullet)] was fired. Chant Chant Chant Chant Chant(Cry Cry Cry Cry Cry)——.

The many descriptions that overwhelmed the readers were anarchic, but the story, which had been put together, showed a miraculous balance of beauty. It was an order(art) called chaos. Had it not been for [Black Rod], no doubt Demonbane would turn out very different from what it is today.

To reiterate, this [Fetus of the Machine God] is [Demonbane] by the said [Hideyuki Furuhashi]——what an insane project this was.

It all started when the Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko’s editorial department requested Mr. Furuhashi to write a commentary for Demonbane’s second volume (= [The Wings towards Tomorrow]), but apparently what they got back was the proposal of this [Fetus of the Machine God].

……Wait; it’s still a mystery why the talk about “Hideyuki Furuhashi sharing a commentary” came out of nowhere in the first place. What the hell was that? Were they trying to say that they’ve figured out all of my hobbies and preferences or something? You planned this, didn’t you, Sneaker?

Anyway, there’s no way they could turn down a story like this. Especially how I myself want to read it more than anyone else.

My heart was already racing just from reading the outline of the plot. It was set in the latter half of the 19^th century, earlier than the main story of Demonbane. A tale of Hadou Kouzou in his younger days. A steampunk and occult atmosphere. The battle against an evil cult. A grand adventure spanning across the entire globe, challenging never-before-seen regions. Without losing anything that defines Demonbane, yet separating itself greatly from the original work, as he has also demonstrated in [Samurai Lensman], I’d say the skill in expanding into new worlds is Mr. Furuhashi’s true forte.

There’s nothing more that needs to be said by me. Yep.

In that fashion, we were finally able to deliver [Fetus of the Machine God] to everyone; those who have already read it will understand that the contents won’t betray your expectations in the slightest.

This book sparks the most fundamental joy of the act called reading——the thrill of turning each page with excitement. It somehow feels similar to the adventure novel I first read during my childhood. And at the same time, Mr. Furuhashi’s rich prose emits a strange intensity that leaves us bewildered.

As these elements mixed together, they once again gave birth to chaos, and from that chaos came order, creating a new world of Hideyuki Furuhashi.

Each novel of Mr. Furuhashi reveals yet another aspect of his works, and the complete picture of [Hideyuki Furuhashi] himself remains unknown. But perhaps this very endless charm is what makes the reader come to love [Hideyuki Furuhashi].

Last but not least, this may sound cliché as usual, but I must express my heartfelt gratitude to Sir Hideyuki Furuhashi for writing such a wonderful novel with a Demonbane theme. And finally, I’d like to appreciate the Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko’s editorial department for giving the green light to this project, along with all devoted fans of Demonbane and Hideyuki Furuhashi.

Indeed, Haganeya is very fortunate.

[Previous Chapter] [Main]

Kishin Taidou Afterword

Afterword

“Would you like to write an exposition for the novelization of the PC game [Deus Machina Demonbane]?”

It was around October of last year, I believe, when I received this request from an editor at Sneaker Bunko.

I went, “Ah, I’ve heard of something about that. I see, it’s a thing about robots with a Cthulhu theme. That seems quite interesting.” With that said, I tried playing the given software, and you could say that was actually pretty fun; it made me want to go write about giant robots too!!

——And so, the robot engine in my heart was ignited.

However, since I was being requested to write an “exposition for the novelization”, obviously there’s someone else who has novelized it before me (three volumes of Ryo Suzukaze’s take on [Deus Machina Demonbane] from Sneaker Bunko had already been published, and they are now on sale). Well, it’s true! I figured: Then, why not a side story!? That’s what I came up with! Thus, without being prompted, I secretly wrote my proposal and sent it to them; from there, I went with the flow of the main game being ported to PlayStation 2——or perhaps, the original author himself, Mr. Jin Haganeya, said out loud, “Oh, I’d love to read that!”——and it got approved right away. That’s quite a way of putting it there.

In a sense, this book, which came into existence partially by chance for everyone, can be said to be a very lucky work. The original [Demonbane] itself is a work with lots of momentum; hence, I felt quite drawn to it. No, I’m serious.

This book, having been written diligently under such circumstances, is a prequel that ties in with the past of Hadou Kouzou, an important character in the original game and the birth of the protagonist mecha, Demonbane.

The era in the main story of [Demonbane] has been expressed as “some fictional time” in the work, but there’s a theory claiming that its original image was “around 1930?”. On the other hand, things such as electric guitars and nuclear missiles do exist, but that aside, in the world of [Demonbane] where history is likely to have been altered everywhere, anything is possible if you assume “Nyarlathotep brought them in”.

So, supposing the period of the main story takes place in the “fictional year of 1930”——where Kouzou Hadou would have been quite old at the time (though he has since passed away), but was still young…… Um, perhaps it would be the 1800s? Yes, the 19^th century. It was the era of Sherlock Holmes, Jules Verne, and the legendary vampire Dracula. 

Now, being set in the 19^th century, I wanted to depict the exploits of Deus Machina Aeon and Prototype Demonbane to the utmost while also involving Kouzou Hadou and the “Master of Necronomicon” from several generations ago——oh yeah, this will work! ——Then, I was able to come up with the basic idea almost on the spot, but in reality, what came after was difficult.

“[Demonbane] + ‘19^th Century’”. In other words, that means “‘Giant Robots’ + ‘Cthulhu’ + ‘19^th Century’”.

I got carried away a little with this overly attractive idea and started thinking of something audacious like, “If anything, I’d love to add some flavors of [Cthulhu ≈ monster stuff] or [Steampunk ≈ alternate history thing]”. 

However, the truth is, these fields that were called “expressing subtle deviations from ‘reality’ by accurately depicting that area” are quite simple yet backbreaking genres. ……In the end, I spent a considerable portion of my writing time doing stupid things like searching for reference materials such as “Did they have ice cream back in the 19^th century?”.

But yeah, this maybe didn’t mean much. To start off, the funny thing about this motif, simply put, lies in the dull sections like “NUOOOOH, EAT THIS, YOU EVIL GOD! THE POWER OF SCIENCE, STEAM PUNCH!!”, and whether it was historically “correct” or anything Cthulhu-wise is not entirely relevant. Rather, it’d be better for me to proactively make mistakes as far as it goes. Besides, I fell into such a situation and had the original manuscript delayed…… my deepest apologies.

I would like to express my gratitude to the original scenario writer, Sir Jin Haganeya, for saying, “It’s perfect!” enthusiastically at each stage of initial planning and development. In regard to planning something, getting the so-called “OK of the original author” is like having a Mito Koumon’s seal case and how reassuring it was. I also thank you for the passionate commentary given at the end of this book. Even so, I feel embarrassed at being praised so highly.

I am extremely grateful to our official illustrator, Mr. Niθ, for creating new designs for this magnificent book, despite the time constraints on his schedule. Thank you so much. Just between the two of us, during the drastically delayed writing process, settings for original characters and mechas for the spin-off started to come up at a mad pace that I was thinking, “……Oh crap, Nitro is getting serious,” and I was pretty excited for them~.

Other than that, I would also like to apologize for various inconveniences I’ve caused to Nitroplus, Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko editorial department, and everyone involved. There is no excuse for what I did.

And lastly, this story will be completed should all [Demonbane] fans read it——however, it doesn’t necessarily have to end here. If you’re still feeling motivated, you can replay the PS2 game [Deus Machina Demonbane: Roar of the Machine God] or reread the already published novelization by Ryo Suzukaze from the first volume. It would be fun to repeat the cycle of time until you reach a satisfying conclusion as well.

——Well then, I hope that we will meet again someday.

Hideyuki Furuhashi

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Epilogue: Advent of the Inhuman——Gazing upon the Moment of the Decisive Battle

Two years later——

[Everyone! Do you guys want some ice cream!?]

When Ada called through a megaphone inside the factory, dozens of workers stopped their tasks and bustled around her in droves. In particular, heavy workers wearing motor suits looked especially impatient as they jumped out.

“Okay, please stay in an orderly line!”

As Ada distributed containers and spoons, the cooler cart that Crawford had been pushing was emptied in a flash.

“May I have one?”

Hearing the man who reached out to her say that, Ada, dressed in her travelling outfit, handed over a container to him and bowed her head stiffly.

“Mr. Hadou, thank you for your long-term help!”

For the past two years, Ada had stayed in Arkham and helped to improve Demonbane’s Analytical Engine and the motor suits, but when the prospect of repairing Demonbane was in sight, she decided to return to London.

“——If you don’t mind, I’d love to have you staying here and assisting us.”

Hadou said as he ate his ice cream alongside Ada.

He was not lying in that regard. Ada had a genius sense for mechanical technology. The current Demonbane was thoroughly incorporated with new technologies invented by Ada. Without her, it would have been impossible to reconstruct Demonbane in the first place, which was almost completely disassembled in the Battle of Providence.

“It’s an honor, mister. But my real job is to be a reporter.”

Ada puffed out her chest pridefully, roughly raising her spoon with a heavy sigh.

“From now on, I'll use these two and a half years of invaluable experience as the fuel to enlighten London and then the world! ——Ah, of course, I’ll follow my duty to keep it confidential, so rest assured.”

“……Personally, I prefer you to not cause a commotion around the world too much, though.”

“Oh, I have to disagree with you on that, Mr. Hadou.”

Ada’s face suddenly turned serious.

“You try to do everything on your own, but some day the world needs to unite for the incoming battle. ——I will provide you support in my own way.”

“I won’t stop your decision then……”

Hadou shrugged his shoulders. After getting along with her for two and a half years, he was fully aware that this young girl would not back down once she had made up her mind.

“……Speaking of, is it about time for your train now?”

“Yes, as you can see, I already set my bell properly——”

Ada stopped feeding the spoon to her mouth and took out her pocket watch.

“——Ah, it stopped!? Oh no!”

When Ada hastily gulped down the ice cream,

“Ouch ouch ouch.”

She cowered, holding down her temple.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine——civilization can only progress by overcoming these pains!”

While declaring such an overblown statement, Ada stood up and approached Crawford.

“I think I should escort you to the central station.”

Crawford said as he picked up her suitcase,

“Thanks, but I’m good. I just want to say farewell to everybody here.”

After saying that, Ada received her bag and looked back at the hall.

“——Then, goodbye, Mr. Hadou! Goodbye, Mr. Crawford! Goodbye, everyone!”

As Ada waved her hand, the familiar workers responded by swinging their spoons.

“And so——”

Ada puffed out her chest and lifted her gaze in one go.

“Have a great day, Demonbane!!”

Raising her hand towards the iron giant——now had been fully armored and longer a “corpse of steel”——Ada quickly turned on her heels to leave the factory.

With a pitter-patter, the sound of her trotting footsteps began to fade away, and eventually they disappeared.

“……She’s left.”

Hadou muttered, perhaps to answer Crawford’s words, or perhaps not.

“The whole world united…… huh?”

Even an Evil God who possessed transcendent power could be repelled with the strength of man——as a result, the battle against Zs-awia had probably brought her such a hopeful impression.

——Yet that was not the case.

There may be something on a different dimension that could not be challenged, even if hundreds of millions of people band together.

It took one magus and hundreds of thousands of citizens’ lives to defeat the Evil God——what if that was nothing but a single aspect of the power of a sole inhuman being?

On that day, after receiving Lemuria Impact’s destructive spell, the Evil God’s super-material body was crumbled and dissolved before being evaporated and erased without a trace.

However, at that moment of sublimation——Hadou had clearly seen it.

The Evil God transformed into a young man with golden eyes, and he was smiling at him.

“Demonbane——do you think we can win?”

Hadou looked up at the steel giant.

“Against that monster…… against the Grand Master, Master Therion.”

+

One night——

In the heart of the “Blasted Heath”, at the yonder center of the glassy crater, there was a figure descending from high above the sky.

It was a white-skinned young man with golden hair. His angelic, well-proportioned body was being laid down in the air.

Slowly, but surely——after spending hours, days, or even years falling—at last, the young man had reached the ground surface, landing soundlessly like a feather.

The young man remained motionless, facing upwards. The sky was full of starlight, reflected by the glass earth. Embraced by the twin starry skies, he was purely absentminded, emptiness reflected in his golden eyes.

Clop, clop——

In this land that was supposed to reject all living things, someone approached with echoing footsteps.

“——Have you awakened, Grand Master?”

Greeting from above was a woman wearing glasses with dark features and dressed up as a maid. She was accompanied by a girl with obsidian eyes at her side.

The young man gave a glance to the woman and said with an evident bored look.

“……You, huh?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

The woman replied, seemingly dismissing the young man’s attitude.

“The ‘Heart of Infinity’ has been stolen, but in its place, I’ve found the [Pnakotic Manuscripts]——Here.”

Saying this, she gently pushed the back of the girl she’d brought along.

The girl stepped forward, but then halted to examine the young man’s expression.

Then, the young man returned his gaze to the starry sky and spoke in the same indifferent tone like before.

“……Everything is all set.”

“Indeed. This is my job, after all.”

The boy murmured, ignoring the giggling woman.

“I think…… I was having a dream.”

“Oh, what kind?”

“It was the same old frolicking dream as always, but……  I had some fun in it.”

The young man raised half of his body; a slight smile was formed on his graceful lips. Subsequently, the girl sat down next to him, resting her cheek onto his smooth chest.

“That’s it, that’s it.”

The woman chimed in.

“——Perhaps you might still be living in that pleasant dream. But take caution and beware! For any minute now, a dream may turn into a terribly awful nightmare!”

Having said that, the woman fawned on the heavens and started to laugh maniacally.

Ignoring her laughter, the young man unconsciously stroked the girl’s hair as he directed his melancholic look beyond the horizon——towards Arkham City.

+

*Clang*——

Enshrined in the deserted underground factory, Demonbane’s eyes opened; its mechanical pupils stared fixedly at a specific spot in the distant “Blasted Heath”.

Yet——its eyes eventually lost the light and closed once more.

Right now, that day has yet to come.

The speechless steel giant lucidly waited in silence for the time of awakening——

[Previous Chapter] [Main] [Next Chapter]

Chapter 3: Roar of the Evil God——Providence, Hail of the Finale

Revenge is built upon contradictions; therefore, it also carries the inevitable elements of evil.

Humans are not born as Avengers. The only ones that give up being human and become monsters under the name of Avenger are not “those who have nothing to lose”, but “those who have lost something”.

Chapter 2: Placenta City——Living City, Unborn Machine God

Allow me to tell you the story behind the “Steel Giant”.

No, I am not referring to a myth or a fairy tale. What I am about to share involves a human being in the flesh, yet it is about a modern giant who has left his mark on the world map.

D.Y.N.FREAKS [End Time]

(This limited Short Story was distributed by Nitroplus booth in Summer 2013 Comiket)

[SIDE:D]

Crow = the last sorcerer(magius) in the world.

This is his final monologue resulted from his fast thinking just seconds before his vitals ceased function:

The Sword that Smites Evil has been broken.

“D” has lost. Its two shields were shattered and its Heart of Lion(Cor Leonis) has been gouged out.

It goes the same for I, who was piloting “D”. I tried to cast magic, but I had no tongue, rather, my jaw was torn off. I couldn’t even breathe with my lungs crushed.

The only thing still intact, for both “D” and myself——is our right hand.

In the right hand dwells infinite heat that destroys all enemies——even God itself.

I extend my right hand.

Yet, the extended hand never reaches.

It is the end. This life is done. Alongside with this world that lost the Sword that Smites Evil.

Indeed. The world that has lost its only protector, “D”, shall be devoured by those Evil Gods. There is no longer any hope for salvation.

What I hold on to in the end was neither despair, nor regret.

——I shall destroy you all.

Like hell I would acknowledge a single drop of blood, a single fragment of a cell, or even the existence of the Evil Gods anywhere in this universe.

My last thought was hatred. Endless hatred. The coldness of the endless abyss cannot match the infinite heat of hatred.

I will fight, regardless if I lose my life or the world comes to an end.

This hatred will deliver me to my enemy. This outstretched hand will reach you someday.

I shall eradicate, I shall strangle you with this right hand.

The next time. The next time for sure.

No matter how many times the world was destroyed——or how many times I have destroyed the world——for that is the purpose of my existence as the Sword that Smites Evil.

---

[SIDE:?]

■■■■■■■■■■■■■=■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Before the creation of the world.

The monologue in the depths of the mists of waves:

There exists not the beginning. There exists not the ending.

There is no cause, no effect. There is nothing that exists, yet it is not nothingness.

In short, the All-in-One and the One-in-All.

Therefore——it must be defined.

There must be a temporary identity given to the being that is All-in-One and One-in-All.

Yes, (I) must become.

For (I) have a wish.

Through that wish as the absolute index, (I) defines (I).

(I) am——

---

[SIDE:Y]

Yoguruma Mugen = Infinite Chromata.

The monologue from the center of the world and the end of the world:

Yoguruma Mugen defines Yoguruma Mugen.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Infinite Chromata.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Girl of Infinity.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Absolute Detective.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Breaker of Labyrinth.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Ouroboros of Massacre.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Lady Therion.

Yoguruma Mugen is the Goddess of Yoga Stupa……

Next.

Yoguruma Mugen defines the world. Yoguruma Mugen perceives the world.

Yoguruma Mugen organizes the world. Yoguruma Mugen arbitrates the world.

And, Yoguruma Mugen manifests as Yoguruma Mugen in the world defined by Yoguruma Mugen.

[Kishishi.]

Yoguruma Mugen mocks the world. Yoguruma Mugen disrespects the world.

For Yoguruma Mugen, the world is nothing but a means to achieve its wish.

No matter how many times the world was destroyed, how many times it has to destroy the world——its wish will come true.

For Yoguruma Mugen defined that as the purpose of Yoguruma Mugen’s existence.

---

[SIDE:N]

Narukami Chikage = Night Chaos.

The final monologue while gazing up at the moon before the last battle, the Thousand Confusion Wars(Chaotic War):

I have nothing.

I am Faceless, I am Chaos. That is who I am.

There is no trace of light inside me, who has nothing.

Ah——that is why I hold on to myself.

The days I spent with you were exceedingly bright and warm like the sun.

So it’s okay now.

I stopped being ashamed for being empty. I stopped lamenting this body of Chaos.

I lost my face again and cannot go back. The memory of this sun will also return to Chaos.

I do not care. I am happy that I can protect this shining world.

I still long for you, who can shine on your own.

There is no place for me, who is without light, in this world. This world exists only for you.

[Avatar: Howler.]

The Mask of Chaos manifests. I will become the Faceless God upon wearing this. I will become a monster that can only roar at the moon.

And, I will return to that Chaos together with the monster. I will not pollute this shining world.

[——Transition.]

Ah——but I wish.

I, myself, may be without brilliance, but I shine like the moon, reflecting the sun’s light.

May my prayers light up your path, at least until morning comes.

And, may the world you live in be blessed with pure Ether.