VI
Chapter 31: Weaver Princess Collapsed in the Heavenly River
Broken_Star
Part 1
September 2, 10:37 PM
It has been only two weeks since the man had turned 30, but that amazing sight always made him feel like a child getting a gift in Christmas all over again.
That sea of darkness, the countless twinkles in the endless sky surrounding him on all angles, the giant blue sphere that humans called home… just how blessed someone had to be to be able to witness this as many times as he did?
He wasn't there just to sightsee though. The instruments of the ship had finally picked up on something, and it was even visible through the window regardless of the distance. "Icarus-53 to Monolith, the ship reached 35,000 kilometers of altitude and I have visual contact with the debris."
The answer came from the communicator without much delay. "This is Monolith. We are having some technical issues and have no readings on your current position. Please send in your current coordinates."
The person talking to him back in the base seemed to be either from an old or a tired woman… or maybe both. Which would be no surprise. The space activity in Academy City was increasing surprisingly fast in the last few days, so they were hiring - or rather, summoning - everyone available and overworking them to the limit for the multiple ongoing projects. He knew close to nothing about them, however. All he heard were the necessary details for his mission. Setting those thoughts aside for now, he reached for the nearby computer while answering. "Affirmative. Sending them off now."
"Ah, sorry… I didn't mean it right now. You don't need to hurry. It's not like I'll be able to handle the data in time on my own. This is just for the obligatory procedures."
"On your own? Isn't this operation important? I thought the base would be full."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but yeah, I'm the only one dealing with your mission right now." The operator said before sighing in self-pity. "Most of the staff are busy on the other big thing and left me alone here. They won't come unless an emergency happens… but there's no way it will."
"Uhhh… I don't want to sound rude or anything, but… this overconfidence makes me worry a little."
"You never flew in the Silver Pegasus before, did you?"
It took a bit for the astronaut to recognize the name as the nickname given to the ship he was currently in. "No. Ever since I came to Academy City last year, this is the first time they sent me out with this one."
"Then let me give you a late warning: this little toy will make your trip quite boring. Better go grab a cup of coffee or something, because it will do everything on its own. I still wonder why they even tripulate the ship at all at this point."
"Eh… seriously?"
"You really didn't know?"
"I was told that it had an advanced auto-pilot function and that I didn't need to worry about it unless it malfunctioned, but I thought I had to make the extraction myself."
"Nah, it can do this job all the way to the end. And the malfunction? Pff… there are no precedents of that up until now. It would be way too much misfortune for it to happen with you after this long."
"I see..." Hearing all that, the man was left hanging between the amazement of the high technology of the ship and the fear of him losing his job to it in the near future. "But if that's the case, why the staff is needed in the other project?"
"I don't think I should be telling you that… but whatever. There's no one to reprehend me here now. And I'm bored, talking about this should be good to kill some time."
"Is it classified information?"
"Not really, but they are keeping it a secret regardless for whatever reason." There was finally some enthusiasm in her voice now. "Everyone thinks the many rockets are being sent to space due to the Venus Probe Contest, but actually, there's a massive construction being made on orbit. Not even our current technology can build something of such a large scale without human hands."
"A construction? Is it another satellite?"
"Who knows? Not even I was told what it is exactly. All I know is that it is called the Endymion."
By that point, the ship seemed to have reached its destination. And just as he was told, it stopped on its own, and sent out multiple drones and robotic arms without a single input from him. "Academy City is really amazing… not only about the technology, but it seems there's always something big going on in the background."
"You get used to it overtime."
"Still, it makes me wonder how this satellite was destroyed. I heard there was a massive beam of light, but that's all."
There was no reply for a while. He thought he had either touched on a complicated subject or that she had grown bored of the talk, but the silence didn't last, proving him wrong. "Yeah, that's one of the biggest mysteries right now... Orihime-1 was one of our highest prides. It's really weird that the incident was covered up. I mean, someone shot it down. Even if it was an accident, someone had to take responsibility over it. Our best supercomputer was inside it. It's a huge loss for the city no matter how you spin it."
"Tree Diagram, huh..." He said the name for no apparent reason while looking at the derby outside. "Seeing its state now, it's hard to believe it calculated the weather with absurd precision just months ago."
"But it did way more than just that. Many facilities used its processing abilities for their research… though this was never made public knowledge for some reason. With all these secrets, doesn't it make you think that it is all related somehow?"
"Hahaha… it's mysterious, but that's overthinking it… probably."
The subject was weird, but with nothing to do, the two of them kept the chit chat going for the following hours while the machine did its job. It wasn't until it was almost done that the woman in the Monolith Base changed her tone. "Waaaaaaa… this is not good."
"What? Is there something wrong with the ship?"
"No… or rather, it's not about YOUR ship. You've got company." The man didn't understand what she meant by that and was thrown in a loop while she continued. "One, two, three… five of them? That's probably the first time we had so many at the same time."
"Oi, you're getting me nervous here. What's going on?" His fear wasn't baseless. The way she said those numbers was very suggestive of something, and just because he was in outer space, didn't mean he was safe from things like missiles or other weapons. On the contrary, it made it even worse. After all, the very satellite he was scavenging was shot down from the surface. If his ship suffered an attack of the same level, there was nothing he could do.
However, that wasn't what was happening. "There are ships coming from all parts of the world heading towards the debry right now. Geez, these guys are thirsty for some Academy City technology, aren't they? I don't think they are armed or anything, so you are probably safe… but I will check their flags just to be sure. Hang on for a second."
Armed? Is that even…? For a moment, he pictured a space battle like the ones you would see in a sci-fi movie while wondering if this Silver Pegasus would be able to handle that on its own as well. He had never received this kind of training, after all.
"Let's see… one from the USA, one from South Africa… those two have no flags on them, but based on their readings, they are possibly be from India, South Korea or China. And… wait, what? The Emerging Countries Trade Union? That's unexpected. Didn't know they could make space operations of this scale."
"Forget about that, why would two of them be hiding their flags?"
"Well, it's not surprising they would be doing this in secrecy, but… yeah, they could be up to no good either. I will readjust the route for your return so we can avoid any unnecessary contact. Sorry to tell you this, but it might take a little longer before you can land now."
"I see… don't worry about that. On the contrary, I'm thankful for your concern." The man let out a sigh before another issue crossed his mind. "But… is it okay to just let them do this? I mean, they are basically trying to steal from us."
"What? Do you think it matters? Do you even know when this thing was launched into orbit?" The sound of her voice had suddenly become dry and uninterested "Almost everything up there is obsolete. Trash. It's a zero gravity junkyard. Let them be happy thinking they got something valuable. And besides, the important part is being loaded into your cargo right now."
"The… important part?"
"Do you want to know? Though they might behead you for this."
"N-no, I think I'll pass."
A green light flashed on the panel indicating that task was done. Whatever was that important thing, it was now onboard and currently going through the decontamination process. And killing any joy or sense of accomplishment, the ship lit up the engines and started flying down the new emergency route.
Having nothing to do and with his mind boiling over all that happened, the man glanced towards the door leading to the cargo. Wouldn't be so bad to just take a peek, right? "... Nah, nevermind. No risks taken, no danger ran."
Part 2
September 2, 11:00 PM - Northern area of District 16
It was rather unusual to have someone walking on the streets of Academy City at this time, but not in the most commercial area of the whole city. Many students took part time jobs here for the high pays, and university students in particular were common to work later hours, while the adults frequented the place seeking to relax and have some fun after a long day of work.
Among them, one person looked rather suspicious, yet it would require a trained eye to even notice his presence while he blended into the surroundings.
He wore black jeans and a black leather jacket, using the hood to hide his brown hair and eyes, and he kept his hands in his pockets all the time to hide the volume of the weapons he carried left on his clothes.
Technically, he was Hishiro Yamazaki… but not today. He wanted no connection to that identity at the moment. His actions right now were for the sake of no one's goal but his own. Maybe it would be more accurate to describe him as the nameless boy that sunk in the darkness looking for answers, and right now, he might be closer to them than he ever was.
Without turning his head, he took awareness of his surroundings before taking three more steps in the direction he was heading. And after confirming no one was looking, he swiftly turned towards a narrow gap in the wall that was barely visible. It was almost like he had been swallowed by the city itself.
Following the downstairs located there, he finally reached a gray iron door that seemed to head into the basement of an arcade store. Instead of knocking, he picked up an arcade coin from his pocket and slid it beneath the door into the building. And after a few seconds, the door finally opened, with an abundance of lights and sounds assaulting his senses at once. But most noticeably was the girl with long curled hair dyed in pink, wearing clothes that looked more like a bikini than actual clothes and a butterfly mask hiding her face while she held the entrance open for him. "Welcome to the Glitch Night Club!"
It wouldn't take an expert to notice that this place was just… wrong. There seemed to be no rules at all here. On multiple tables, there were children playing cards and betting money. On the counter, alcohol was being sold disregarding the age of who had ordered it. Some shady looking people sat on a corner, and it seemed that some drug deal was being made there. Right next to them, several slot machines and pachinko machines lined up in three rows where some people were excitedly awaiting for the results of their last play.. And on the dancing track… well, it's better not to mention that one. Despite the name, the whole atmosphere gave more of an underground cassino vibe than anything else.
The boy looked in disgust before letting out a self loathing smile. It has been a while since I last came to this shithole.
Just to clarify, he wasn't here because he wanted to. Someone else insisted that they had to meet in this place. After looking for a while, he found the culprit on a table rather far from the entrance. It was a boy of 10 at most, wearing brown shorts and a social blue shirt, typing on a black notebook placed on the table. Sitting opposite him was a blond girl with pigtails, green eyes and a one piece black dress. They both noticed him when he approached and took a sit between them.
"Hello there, onii-san."
"It's good to see you are faring well, Hishiro."
Aleat the info broker. Kihara Nayuta. And the last member of New Pointer, who had also survived a battle against two of the level 5s and contacted the magic side. Perhaps the three of them were the most dangerous group around here, even though no one would know that. Still, it feels weird to share a table with two kids in this place.
Regardless of his thoughts, Nayuta was the first one to complain. "You two are really mean, forcing a lady to come to a place like this. Not to mention I'm also a member of Judgment, you know?"
"Don't give me that." Hishiro quickly held his palms up. "It was Aleat's idea."
"But it was you who asked for somewhere that couldn't be tracked by cameras or satellites." Refuted the younger male. "You won't find anywhere else in the city more fitting of that description than here."
"Fair enough, I guess." For Hishiro, this was still better than risking having Asuka on his trail.
"Also," Aleat continued, "with the due respect, you seem to be feeling quite at home here, Kihara-san."
"Not as much as you."
"Of course. My regular customers often come here to make the deals."
Unsatisfied with his argument, Nayuta held out her tongue for him, but he paid her no heed. Instead, he called for a waitress walking nearby who placed a tablet like device in front of each one of them on the table before heading off. Hishiro took a moment to notice that it was actually a menu from where he could make his order directly. Is all that just to avoid having others know the stuff you're consuming? I gotta say they had put a lot of effort in improving this place, despite being the rat nest it is.
It seemed like a little detail, but besides privacy, this would make it more difficult to poison someone if you didn't know what they had ordered beforehand. Needless to say, there had been precedence of similar things happening. Still, he couldn't shake off the insecurity and just picked a canned soda.
After making her order, the only girl of the group crossed her legs over the table. "So, can you at least tell me what was so important that we had to meet in person to discuss?"
"Right. Let's start with the DNA sample you talked about the last time." Said the older male. "The information you found in that database sounded limited, so I asked Aleat to take a look into that direction."
Ever since he was told that there was a sample of his childhood friend's DNA going around, which was supposed to be taken after the accident, Hishiro couldn't take his mind away from it. But… something else happened afterwards. Something that gave this fact a whole different meaning. And, even though this was a card he wanted to keep close to himself for the time being, what he could do without these two was just not enough. He would have to disclose it if he wanted to get to the bottom of this.
Hearing his name, the younger boy typed a few last things on the notebook before turning it around and showing the screen to the others. "First of all, I want to confirm something with you, Kihara-san. You are completely sure that the sample was different from the one kept by the researchers of Rosenberg's ability inside Nagatenjouki Academy?"
"Yes, I made sure to compare the data myself."
"This is weird." Continued the boy. "Because I found out that the exact same one being recently retrieved from a laboratory related to the academy."
"Wait, so you're saying that the Nagatenjouki Academy had not only the original, but also the mutated sample too?" Hishiro asked in surprise. "What does that mean?"
"The keyword here is 'had', onii-san." Nayuuta was the one to answer while she read through the file displayed on the screen. "They aren't responsible for taking the sample in the first place. Remember what I told you? Many people related to the dark side ended up with it in their hands in the last few years, just to pass it on at some point. Not even I could track it."
"Which makes me believe that it was all a plot to make it seems like the DNA had been lost, or had never existed in the first place." Completed Aleat. "But in reality, the academy had it on their radar the whole time and knew it would end up on their hands eventually."
After finishing, the blond girl sunk herself on her seat. "I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it myself. This means they managed to take it away from the grasp of the Kiharas."
"Either that, or the Kiharas and Nagatenjouki Academy were working together. It wouldn't be the first time too. The #1 power was born from their collaboration too, if I am not mistaken."
Hearing the younger male's hypothesis put Hishiro deep in thought. "If you are right… if the people responsible for that white monster are really behind this too… then what were they planning to do with Lilly? Just how big is the scale we are talking about here?"
No one answered right away. Aleat stared into Nayuta, as if he was expecting her to give an explanation, but not even her, as a Kihara, seemed to know. After a few moments, she opened her mouth, but the words that followed weren't really optimistic. "If someone knows that, it would be either Amata oji-san, who was directly involved with the creation of the #1, or Gensei ojii-chan, but..."
"The man is still missing… no one heard about him ever since before the Breakdown began."
"Regardless, I found something interesting that could be related to this." With a complete mood shift, the girl continued in a confident tone. "It's possible that Accelerator wasn't the only candidate to be the #1 level 5 back when the accident happened. Onii-san, you said that all children in the facility used to have similar skills, right?"
"That's right." Pulling a coin out of his pocket, Hishiro flipped it in the air before stopping it on its fall using the distorted field. "My Null Inertia is just one of the many variations we had there, though most of them only got to Level 2. Besides me, I remember a kid that could do the exact opposite and increase the momentum of moving objects, another that could transfer any force applied to a body to the gravity making it stop and fall really fast, and… well, Lilly's Rewind, which was the strongest among all of us. She could undo any movement that she had seen."
Satisfied with the answer she got, Nayuuta continued her explanation. "You call it a variation of some sort, but it goes beyond that. Do you see the real pattern among all these abilities?"
He was supposed to be the one with the most knowledge on the subject, since he had seen it all with his own eyes, but her question made him blink blankly. "What do you mean?"
"You are saying that… no way!" Aleat widen his eyes in surprise, noticing where the girl was going with her logic. "Those are all somewhat related to vectorial control!"
"Yes and no. I guess it's the opposite. Vectorial control would just be another piece in this puzzle. Or rather, another variant of what they were trying to achieve."
"Which would be…?" The young boy cut his words shorts when the waitress came back bringing the drinks and food they ordered. Only when she was gone that the little Kihara continued their talk.
"This is what I'm not sure exactly. But looking at the greater scene, there were several other Child Error related facilities at the time that had shares similarities with yours and the ones under the wings of Nagatenjouki. It feels like they were trying to get a really low probability result, which would need a large contingent of experiment subjects."
Reflexing on these words, his previous knowledge on the incident and what had been happening in the city recently, one term popped on the older male's mind. "Level 6… could that be what they were after?"
"What makes you think of that?"
"The accident happened because they forced Lilly's power until she lost control, probably to turn her into a Level 5… that's what you told me before, right Aleat?"
"Yes, that was the conclusion I reached from the data I could gather."
"Hmmm… It seems possible. Gensei ojii-chan is specifically obsessed with that." Distracted by her thoughts after answering, Nayuta casually reached for her plate some weird looking appetizers and started eating. "... and this tastes surprisingly good."
"But then, why would they need that kind of ability variant exclusively?" Aleat asked. "If they were to accept any ability at all, they would have way more subjects to work with."
"Maybe it was easier to optimize abilities of a single type?" Suggested the girl.
"Or maybe it made it easier to cover up the true nature of what they were trying to do?" Suggested Hishiro.
"Or they needed a Level 6 of that specific type of esper."
All three of them stopped and looked at each other. Nayuta may have been following a logic chain to reach that conclusion, but… it was just beyond absurd. First of all, a Level 6 esper was already so beyond reach that only the most ambitious research would set it as their finish line. And it wasn't that strange once you thought about it. Only 6 espers produced in Academy City reached Level 5 (not counting the #7 since he was a Gemstone). The technology in the esper development program that allowed it to happen was relatively new, and was far from being perfect given the low success rate. It would probably take dozens of years to go beyond that, even with the fast advancement of technology in Academy City… or it would require some dirty shortcut method.
Then secondly, You could just make a rough estimate of what an esper would actually be able to do once he or she reached that level, since there has never been a Level 6 esper in history, not even a gemstone, to use as an example. And then to go a step further to use THAT as a stepping stone to an even greater goal? Forget about pilling unstable variables on top of each other, just how far fetched of an objective would that even be to begin with? Were they trying to defy the natural laws of the world on a global scale or something of the sort?
Just thinking about it gave Hishiro a headache and made him feel as small as an ant compared to all of that. "You may have said it as a joke, but the scary thing is that I don't doubt someone would be crazy enough to try and do it..."
"I wasn't joking." She refuted. "I guess this shows how much we had seen of the shadows of this city. Still, this is nothing but speculation on my part. I can't go any further than that unless I had the chance to directly study the similarities of these powers. And the only living samples are you and the #1 himself, and I don't think I need to explain why that is impossible."
*Clang*
The loud noise coming from a nearby table interrupted their line of thought. The two younger ones looked at the direction of where the sound came from while the older male just sighed and focused on drinking his soda.
"HEY, I SAW IT! HE WAS CHEATING!"
"L-lies! How could I possibly-"
"Don't play dumb brat! The dice was about to land on a 2 and then it was a 6 all of a sudden! How do you explain that!"
The one shouting was a girl of about 16 with dyed blond hair and a ragged leather jacket. Facing her, was a boy of 12 at most with short black hair wearing discrete glasses and with a uniform of not well known school. He seemed really angry at her due to the accusation. "Why do I need to explain anything? You are the one acting like a brat, you sore loser!"
"D-damn you!" Out of rage, the girl grabbed an empty bottle nearby and threw it at him before anyone on the table could stop her. But the object never hit him. In a blink, the bottle was gone - or rather, was replaced by a dice that looked exactly the same as the one they were using to play on the table.
Where was the bottle then?
Even the boy was surprised to see that he was holding it on his right hand. "O-oh no… I didn't want to..."
"Oh, I see… you're a teleporter, huh? So that's how you do it, you pest!"
It was too late for him. If he had let himself get hit, the others would probably take his side, but he couldn't help but defend himself on reflex. Now they were all shouting at him, demanding their money back. Eventually, he was dragged outside by the group and who knows what would happen afterwards. "N-no, wait! I can explain! Please help!"
Of course, no one did. There were only some whispers saying "That again?" or "What were him expecting after cheating?".
With the confusion gone, Aleat finished his suspicious looking drink and pulled his notebook back. It seemed like the distraction pulled him back to the rational side of things after all the speculation talk. "So this is a dead end unless we find the owner of the DNA sample herself. The supposedly mutated Evelina Rosenberg. And she has to be alive so we can study her power."
"So… about that." The older male words made both Nayuta and Aleat raise an eyebrow. The time to play that card had finally come. It was a massive risk, but it was that or nothing. In other words, a gamble. Hishiro has been taking a liking to that sort of stuff recently. "There's something I need to show you. Follow me."
Part 3
It wasn't that far away from the clandestine cassino. They just had to walk a few blocks to get to District 3. From there, Hishiro took them to a private salon nearby and into a room he had reserved beforehand in the 4th floor.
In comparison to the many other private salons you could find in that district, this one was more on the humble side. It looked quite fancy, but that was just because it was tidy and everything was well arranged. Upon closer inspection, everything from the entrance hall, hallways and even inside the rooms weren't that expensive. Not to mention that the rooms themselves were quite small. Whoever designed them didn't intend to have more than four people to use the space.
It was inside one of these rooms that Aleat and Nayuta entered while feeling a little suspicious of the whole situation. But that feeling was completely blown away by what they found there.
Above the wooden floor, laying on the two sit sofa in front of a 30 inches TV.
"This… cannot be real..." Aleat was the first one to react. The blond girl just stood beside him and held her mouth with both hands while her eyes widened in surprise.
This was to be expected. After everything they had learned, it was kinda hard to believe even after seeing it with one's own eyes. After all, there lay something that shouldn't be anymore. Sleeping peacefully, just like an innocent child, wearing the same clothes and looking exactly the same as the girl they were talking about a few minutes before. "Do I need to introduce you?" The older male asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Though this wasn't all. There was something melancholic mixed there. "This is Lilly… or rather, Eveline Rosenberg."
Finally letting her voice out, Nayuta barely managed to organize her words into a sentence. "Where… How..?"
"I found her this morning wondering all by herself in District 18." He answered and approached the furniture. The look on the boy's face was complicated as he rested his hand on the same arm of the sofa that the girl was using as a pillow, but he never touched her in the process. "As for how, I'm as clueless as you are. I tried asking her, but she said she didn't know anything. Heck, she didn't even recognize me, and yet followed me all the way here without questioning. Then she fell asleep by the start of the evening and, well… there you have it. Not a single motion ever since. It's kinda worrying to tell the truth."
Swallowing dry, the young Kihara approached Lilly and checked her pulse. "Onii-san… I don't want to ruin this for you but… how can I say it?" Stumbling with her words for a while, she had to stop what she was doing to try and get her point across as carefully as possible. "This girl probably isn't the same as the one you knew. Or rather, it's impossible for her to be."
"..." Hishiro looked away from her and his hand closed into a fist. It wasn't an act to threaten her or anything. It was a natural reaction of endurance. She could just wonder what he was feeling at that moment. "Don't take me as an idiot. I know that. I know that very well..."
Indeed, it was obvious just by looking. Evelina Rosenberg went missing during the accident that happened many years ago. If she had somehow survived that, she would be eighteen years old by now.
And yet, this girl looks exactly the same as Evelina from Hishiro's memories and the photos on the files. It's like time had frozen for her during all these years. It was impossible for her to be older than Nayuta, at the very least.
"Then," Aleat started talking, finally recomposing himself, "the only way to explain this would be..."
"I'm thinking the same as you." Completed Nayuta. "Cloning. That would explain the DNA sample, and the mutation could be the result of genetic modification from before this one was born."
"To think something like that was happening all this time and no one noticed... they probably used the Radio Noise project to overshadow her creation."
"The important question is why." She said before standing up again. "I'm not liking where this is going. It feels like we stumbled on the tip of some big conspiracy we won't understand until it's too late."
"Welcome to my life." The older male said it as a joke, but she didn't like it in the slightest.
"I'm being serious here. If my family is really involved with her creation, then this could end up being really dangerous, Onii-san. Maybe more dangerous than anything you have ever got yourself involved with."
More than those crazy magicians? I don't think so. He kept those thoughts to himself as he cleaned his throat. "You have a point, but we don't know for sure if they are involved with this or not. Besides… I do have a different theory."
Contrasting his tone just a moment before, his voice sounded dry, making the conflict clear on what he was about to say. "Given how her ability worked, and the overdrive they forced her through on the day of the accident, there might be tiny chance of… I mean, it's not impossible to..."
The younger male frowned on the suggestion. "Are you supposing that she reverted herself to… lets say, a baby, and she had been secretly removed from the place and grew up again into the girl we are seeing here? Because that sounds like a big stretch to me."
"But it's not impossible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be hopeful or anything. It's just that overlooking different points of view usually comes back to bite me later on. This is the one time I don't want it to happen no matter what."
"I think we should examine her in more detail." Proposed Nayuta. "That way we can be absolutely certain of who - or what - she is, or if she is even healthy at all."
"Just to be clear, I won't let you dissect her."
"I won't do that… well, not enough to harm her at least."
...wait, what? Hishiro had many questions popping up inside his mind about her statement, but he had no chance to ask any of them before she continued. "But this is a problem. I don't have the proper equipment, and either bringing it here or taking her to the lab could draw suspicion. Hmm..."
"Wait, I have to object." Aleat interrupted sounding really upset. "I mean no offence, but given the fact that you are a Kihara, I cannot trust you to do that. Not while there is the possibility of the rest of your special family being involved."
"Hoh, really? And what gives you the power to-..."
"I do. I paid him to help me and I trust his advice." With the other boy backing him up, Nayuta was driven to a corner and had no choice but to keep herself quiet. "So let's do this his way."
"What can he do? He is no researcher, nor a doctor!"
"Indeed, I am not. But I do know a doctor. The best one in the city, mind you. I assume you have heard of Heaven Canceler before."
That name was the last nail in the coffin. The girl widened her eyes for a moment, then she shrugged and walked away. "Whatever. Do as you two wish. I know you will come begging for my help sooner or later."
After she left the room, Hishiro looked at Aleat with a bitter smile. "Were we too harsh on her?"
"Who knows. That girl scares me to be honest. It is impossible to know what her true intentions are. I would be careful around her if I were you."
It was easy to forget, but she WAS a Kihara after all. Hishiro had her on his side for now because he threatened her. That didn't mean they were allies or anything of the sort. It was safer to just trust Aleat, who was in it for the money. The boy wouldn't betray him unless someone paid more, and that meant a huge amount of money. Still, he couldn't shake off the guilt he felt for acting this way. Was that really the right choice? ...Why am I doubting myself at a time like this? Thinking this way won't do any good. There's no right choice. You either go the most certain route or you put yourself into risk.
"Yamazaki-san? Are you listening?"
"Hm? S-sorry, what did you say?"
"I will go call the doctor now. He will send an ambulance, so can you take her to the ground floor and wait there?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." Without even waiting for his answer, Aleat was already making the call. Hishiro looked down at the sleeping girl, hesitating to pick her up. What if - and only if - his theory was correct and she was really his childhood friend? Was it okay for him touch her after all that had happened?
"..."
He had really became a monster to survive and get this far. His pride was buried in the mud and his hands were stained in blood forever. It didn't matter if he had done all that to get to this exact moment. What would Lilly say if she knew about everything he did?
"... heh. Pathetic." Laughing bitterly, he finally made up his mind and picked her up. He could picture in his mind her dress slowly growing red by the blood on his hands crawling inside the fabric and tainting her skin. The vision only made him grin wider. It doesn't matter. I only walked into hell following where they had taken her. They are the ones to blame. And now that I'm feeling I'm getting closer to the core of this whole incident, I can finally crush them if they try anything like that again.
Part 4
September 3, 6:09 AM - The mansion at the shores of the Müggelsee lake, Germany.
Even though the building was technically a mansion, the interior was almost as big as a small castle. As the headquarters of the Golden Sages of the Next Aeon, most of its members lived there, and counting the servants that wouldn't exactly qualify as members of the cabal, the number of inhabitants of the main building should border just below 50. There were more bedrooms in a second and third buildings on the other side of the massive rose garden, but these were mostly used by guests and members that traveled most of the time and would stay for no more than a couple of days.
Still, for all members of the cabal, that place was a safe sanctuary regardless if they had chosen to live there or not. And because of that, everyone had helped to make it a place having everything a magician would need. The best example of that would be the massive library located at the center of the mansion, that extended from the ground level all the way to the third floor. The books there were gathered with the help of everyone and contained crucial information that was used for the base of their unique magical system, as well as some original ones written by the members themselves regarding their research and accomplishments with said system. There were even a few original grimoires there.
Now you may be thinking that it was inside the library that the magic happened, where the breakthroughs were made and where all the spells unexplainable by the regular modern magic were born, right? But that wasn't the case. This was mostly just a storage of books that the magicians would take when needed. Each and everyone of them had their personal space on the terrain where they would actually do their research. So unless a group of them were working together, it would be difficult to see them doing actual research here.
And yet, the east wing on the second floor was relatively crowded this early in the morning.
Near to the one of the doors at that side of the library, there were close to no shelves for books. Actually, that particular place looked more like a lounge than a library, with many fancy seats, a round table, and a fridge with snacks and drinks that looked completely out of place. And it was there that some of the most monstrous members of the cabal were currently spending their time.
With his back leaning against the wall, was a man dark brown skin, very short black hair under a white turban, black eyes, and silver marks growing out of his marble robe on his neck and arms. He was known only as Hamapep.
Laying down on a sofa was a woman with a beautiful face that was only ruined by the large scar on the right side, and a long black hair that went inside the grey robes with gold adornments. Both her black left eye and her unnatural yellow right eye were focused on the magazine she had been reading during the last hour.
On the armchair placed in between the two was a man wearing a robe exactly like the one worn by the woman, except that he was using the hood of the robe to cover up his face, even though he was indoors and among allies. But no matter how suspicious it looked like, he had an aura of serenity that made him look completely natural and harmless the way he was. He was Rázval Gregory Serafin, one of the Trinity that ruled over the Cabal.
And lastly, barging into the room after ten minutes of absence, was a girl in blond braids and deep blue eyes, unexpectedly wearing a pink top and black shorts instead of the fancy dress she used normally. Also a member of the Trinity, she was Lillian Wyvern. However, not only her clothes, but the atmosphere around here felt unusual, which was noticed by everyone in the room.
Seeing the usually cheerful girl like that would break the heart of anyone in the faction, but not Hamapep. Without even looking at her, he asked what probably everyone wanted to know. "So… how was it?"
"Not good… not good at all." She answered before biting her lower lip in frustration. "I even went to the city to get some medicine, but it wasn't enough. Without Rüdiger, there isn't much we can do."
"I disagree." The male replied coldly. "If our spells are not working, why would his?"
With her eyes getting wet, the girl could do nothing but whisper while holding back her urge to cry . "Poor Cristina..."
"She brought it on herself." Said the woman on the sofa. "Sure, we didn't know that Aleister had placed a curse on us, but even then she was way too careless." Her words seemed harsh, but in reality, she might be the one feeling the worst about the situation.
It wasn't just the gunshot. The spells that Cristina had used continuously, just like Rüdigers, started to take a stool on her body overtime, which made her even weaker when she got injured. And on top of all that, Aleister had done something during the short time they had been inside the walls of the city that made the treatment difficult. They had yet to figure out what it was.
"On that matter, Rázval," the woman continued, "you were the last one to talk to her before we left for Japan, right? Do you have any idea as to why Cristina was being so reckless? It was almost like she had another goal in mind."
"I'm afraid not." The man answered in a serene voice. "All I did was to give her advice on the spell she had prepared. I am sure she had talked about the same subject with you too, Hamapep."
"Yes. Kind of. She just wanted help with her celestial map when she came to me."
"... I see." Unsatisfied with the answer, the woman went back to reading her magazine.
"Hey, Rázval..." Lilian approached him and sat on his lap casually while asking. It was probably something to normally happen around there because no one seemed surprised by the bold action. "Can't you do anything to help her? I mean, you are the most powerful of all of us, right? You once were a magic god."
The girl may have dropped that bombshell with no ill intentions, and was also too innocent to notice the change, but she certainly touched a difficult subject as the temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees. Not only Hamapep and the scar woman, but a few others that were standing nearby, even some maids, all stopped what they were doing and cautiously started to pay closer attention to the conversation.
Rázval, however, didn't seem to be bothered by that at all and just giggled. "That is not how it works, my dear. Certainly, if I still had my status of magic god, there would perhaps be a chance of saving her. But in my current state, it is impossible."
"Why did you give up on that then?"
The more she asked, the more it piqued the interest of the ones around. This time, the man seemed to be a bit more cautious and took a little longer to answer. "Magic holds infinite possibilities. And a magic god is supposed to stand at the very top of all magic. But that sounds like a contradiction, does it not? Once you get there, there is no room left to grow. And when I noticed that I still could not accomplish what I wanted, I had no other option but to step down from that position so I could find another way to reach even higher."
"Even higher than a magic god? Just what is it that you want to do?" The one to ask wasn't Lillian, but the woman who had let go of the magazine after hearing how absurd his answer was.
"It is not something I can casually explain, but it does require the success of Myrin's and miss Lilian's plan. That is the reason I joined the Sages."
"But I don't understand how you couldn't complete those preparations with the almighty powers of a magic god."
"Like I said, it is not easy to explain. Specially for someone labelled as the Witch of Misery."
Silence.
Rázval still had the calm aura surrounding him, but the poison in his last words were strong enough to make everyone tremble. The magician of Death seemed to be just a step away from jumping at the man's neck and glared at him, daring him to give her the final push.
Rázval was among the Trinity, and Lillian herself called him the most powerful, but that woman was not to be taken lightly. If the two were to clash…
After what felt like an eternity under the pressure of those two monsters, the door opened once again, changing the atmosphere in the room one more time. Wearing a black suit and having a well combed hair the same color as Lillian's, this man diluted all the tension by just being there. That just showed just how much respect everyone had for him, including Rázval who made a discreet apologizing signal for the woman in similar robes before speaking with him. "Ah, Myrin. I was wondering when would you come."
"I see you all assembled here on your own. That saves me some time." Even after talking on a firm tone, he casually sat next to the robed woman before continuing. "We need to revise our plans. Three of us are already incapable of continuing, after all."
"Onii-sama..." Lillian couldn't help but whisper in dissatisfaction while casting a sad glance to the floor. It's not like Rüdiger and Cristina were dead. On the contrary, they needed help now more than ever. Was it really the right time to be talking about the plan? But it seemed no one else shared her opinion. The others all wore the same serious expression as her brother (except for Rázval, but then again, it was impossible to see the man's face).
"Before that, I'm curious about something." Hamapep was the first one to talk. "Our carrier in Italy managed to steal it?"
"Yes, but he is not coming straight here to deliver the object in question."
"Why is that?"
"To keep this location a secret." Myrin answered with his index finger lifted. "Since we had personnel stationed in Tokyo, I told him to head to Japan to join them there when they were to come back. But I guess you can see the problem with that."
"Because of Cristina, they had to come earlier. Except for Valdo… did anyone hear of him yet?"
Myrin shook his head with his eyes closed. "Unfortunately, no. We have to assume the worst case scenario. He was either captured or killed before accomplishing his mission, and the spiritual item we lent him, the Fool Arcana card, was probably stolen. If Crowley is still willing to use magic, he may be analyzing it as we speak, which is bad news for us."
Lillian gritted her teeth hearing those harsh words, but her brother paid her no heed and continued. "So our last operation can be called a complete failure, which put us in a disadvantageous spot right from the start. We need to be more careful from now on when deciding who will be doing what so we can avoid-..."
"Onii-sama!" The little sister couldn't endure it any longer and shouted without thinking.
"Silence, Lillian."
"No, I will not be silent while you keep saying those horrible things!" Filled with frustration, she jumped to her feet and stomped her way towards Myrin before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up from his seat. "Everyone… everyone did their very best to fulfill what we had tasked them to do! It's not their fault that things didn't go as planned! They were fighting for us this whole time! And yet you…!"
"Lillian… say one more word and I will hit you." The girl gasped in disbelief of what she had just heard, widening her eyes while facing her brother's cold stare. "Have more consideration to the feelings of the ones around you."
She looked around and then she finally saw. All of them were looking away, but it was pretty obvious that their hearts were just as shattered as hers for what happened. Tears started to accumulate on her eyes and the grip she had on Myrin loosened while she started crying on his chest.
He placed a hand on her shoulder to console her, but his expression was kept the same. As a leader, he wouldn't let himself show any weakness here. "This is war. We cannot win without any sacrifices."
"I know that… I know that, but still..."
"Everyone knew. They went to the battlefield fully aware that this could happen. So we need to take responsibility over the past failures and make sure they will not repeat. That is for the sake of everyone. Do you understand that?"
"Yes… I'm sorry." After a few more seconds, Lillian finally calmed down and let go of her brother, going back to Rázval's lap. Myrin also sat down again and resumed the earlier topic.
"Where were we? Ah, right. Before anything else, we need to guarantee the return of our carrier… Hmmmmm..." As usual, the man took his time thinking deeply on what to do. Everyone just waited patiently for him to start talking again. "Hamapep, I am sorry to ask this of you, but like I said, we cannot risk another loss. Can you escort him back safely? It will be too dangerous for him to come back no matter what route we pick."
The other male sighed like someone that knew this was coming. "Fine. I guess it can't be helped… and the kid is easier to deal with than Rüdiger at least."
"Good." Myrin nodded in satisfaction before turning to his sister again. "Lillian, our allies in America are requesting our skills for a certain matter. You know them better than I do, so who do you suggest we send?"
With a complete shift in mood, the girl took her index finger to her chin and answered on her usual tone. "Hmmm… I think miss Thania would be the best option but..."
"... oh, me?" The one answering in that surprised voice was none other than the woman in gray robes. Thania wasn't her actual name, but that's how Lillian had called her ever since they met, and many within the organization started using the nickname as well.
"You know we cannot send her out." Myrin denied the possibility while shaking his head. "Not until we find a way to dispel Crowley's curse from her and Cristina."
"Then… what about Rázval?"
"No. The three of us have something else to do."
"In that case… oh, I know! There is that boy that was training with his spiritual item yesterday… what was his name again? I think he is new, but he knows sooo much, I was really surprised! I will go get him!"
Ignoring the fact they were in the middle of a meeting, she stood up and dashed to the exit, but not before her brother talked to her one last time. "Like I said, we have a task to do. Meet us at the garden afterwards."
But she slammed the door closed without saying anything. It was impossible to know if she had actually heard what he had said.
"I can't just keep up with her..." Thania commented after letting out an exhausted sigh. "It always amazes me how you two manages to keep the organization in order with her in the Golden Crown."
"How can I put it… she is the mood of the group?" Rázval answered while scratching his head over the grey hood. "Also... you may be an exception to this rule, but most of us are here because of her. And this goes for our allies too. There is something about this girl that pulls in everyone around her and gives them hope. Truly fascinating to witness, even when it feels somewhat unnatural."
"You say that, but you are the only one I know that can curse the whole world without making anyone angry." She retorted, glancing at him with narrow eyes. "You have no right to call anyone unnatural."
"That is just tact. Anyone can learn and master this technique."
And with that, any chance they had to keep this meeting going was ruined. The two would keep arguing in this "cold war" for hours if no one stopped them, and Myrin was deep in thought for whatever reason. He could break the discussion with a single stare if he wanted to, but the outside world had disappeared from his eyes for the moment and it wouldn't be wise to interrupt his brain when he was like this.
That only left Hamapep, watching everything with a single eye open while leaning on the wall and trying to ignore the stares of the maids and a couple of other members nearby. It was a mystery to him what they thought of the higher ranks of the Cabal when scenes like these were almost routine. "Well then, if you don't mind, I will make my preparations."
As he expected, no one answered. Shaking his head side to side, he made his way out of the library and walked down the hallway towards his room feeling a little annoyed at how they could act like that when the situation was so serious. But maybe that's exactly why it has to be them. Yes, I'd rather have the world being on their hands instead of any other big player staring at it with cold eyes.
Part 5
September 3, 08:00 AM - District 23, Landing Track
Sunlight bathed the never ending asphalt of the area. It wouldn't be exactly wrong to call the place a parking lot for airships and things of the sort.
However, there was no movement that morning. No vehicle movement, to be more exact. Instead, the track was filled with staff and other personnel specially hired for today. Why? You could ask this question to any member of the staff and they wouldn't know the answer. The tasks they were assigned to seemed to be preparations for something to arrive, but they were given no time, no explanation, and any questions asked were brushed off or given the vague answer of "being ready just in case something happens", which was obviously a lie. Of course something was about to happen, given the amount of security being around.
And most strange at all, none of them were from Anti-Skill. They weren't even using a uniform. Or if they were, it held no meaning when there was so many different groups involved.
Among them, four girls stood out even in this varied crowd. Unlike the others that were running left and right doing their own things, they were assigned to be on standby on a specific point which led them to the utmost boredom.
"Kinuhata, that's unfair! You are cooling yourself with the nitrogen, aren't you?"
"You can super complain all you want, Frenda, but that won't change anything. My power is what it is."
"AAAAH, I can't take it anymore!" The blond girl that was fanning herself with her beret up until now to try and endure the heat threw it up in the air and started stomping on the ground like a child. "Even if it's easy money, this is just way too boring! And it's way too hot! I'm dying here!"
"Stop all that noise! Can't you just shut up for a minute!" The shout came from the #4 Level 5 standing nearby, and was followed by a beam of greenish white light being fired at the ground just a step away from where Frenda was standing, making her shriek cover her mouth to avoid having another one fired at her. "Just look at Takitsubo, she hadn't said a single word after we arrived!"
Hearing that, the other two girls looked at the last member of their team that was laying down with her limbs scattered and staring blankly into the sky. The sight actually made them a little uncomfortable. "M-Mugino… in the end, I think we should actually be worried about her. I didn't see her blinking at all for a while now."
"No, it's too late. We super lost her about an hour ago."
For another twenty minutes, the members of item (save for Takitsubo) kept messing up like this, drawing out quite the attention to them. Mugino was especially conscious of the stares, but just by glancing back at them, they would avert their eyes away.
Finally, after all this wait, Takitsubo blinked a couple of times and sat up. "It's coming."
However, no one said anything to her. Instead, their eyes were locked on the distant horizon.
Indeed, something was coming.
All the staff and security soon noticed the approaching flying object and quickly started making preparations in a hurry, all the while clearing up space for it to land.
"You know what to do, right?" Mugino asked the others and they all confirmed with a firm nod while walking towards the edge of the track.
And soon after, the aircraft landed - though it looked more like a mixture of a space bus and a fighter jet instead. On the side of its chromed hull, a black decal formed the words "Silver Pegasus" near the door that opened as soon as the vehicle came to a stop.
A great number of people surrounded the pilot as he left the ship, but the ship itself was what was gathering the most attention. Many different teams started what looked like maintenance work while others scouted the area, but an expert could tell this was just an act. They were only interested in a single thing: the cargo. But no one could dare to make a sudden move. They were all expecting the right personnel to retrieve it first.
All except for one.
Mugino had a better plan. While everyone believed they held each other in check…
"Oi, you, step back! We're not done with-..."
"No. You're super done already. I mean, your life is."
The man couldn't even say anything. Kinuhata had dug her fist deep into his stomach, crashing his back into the ship and deforming the ultra resistant exterior, leaving the cargo door half open.
"D-dammit! Stop her! She is trying to steal it away!"
Before he could even finish shouting, many sparks were running on the ground following a specific track towards, followed by explosions all over the place. You really thought I had nothing to do and was bored, right? Idiots! In the end, you didn't even notice the tape I spread all around and the bombs I had planted! Frenda smirked while celebrating the success of her trap and putting away the device she had used to light up the sparks.
"I-it's an attack! Reagroup and fight back!" But it was already too late. The espers hidden among the group were being shot down one by one by the Meltdowner as she received directions from the wide-eyed Takitsubo by her side.
ITEM were hired to make sure the cargo of the ship wouldn't be stolen, but it didn't take long for them to notice how many people were after the damn thing. So Mugino planned to steal it before anyone else had the chance to do so in order to assure their client would have it intact in the end - and so far the plan seemed to be working.
"Mugino! I super got it!"
"Good! Time to get the hell out of here!"
That was the difficult part. They were in the heart of District 23. This place was like a never ending airport track. There was no place to hide. Nowhere to run away to. They would have to force their way out with raw firepower if they wanted to succeed. And the #4 power was just perfect for that.
The Level 5 pulled an item that looked like a miniature solar panel from her pocket and threw it on the air before firing the electron beam on it. When the attack hit, it multiplied and rained down the area around the four, clearing away the people surrounding them. Then, they broke into a run towards their wagon parked about a hundred meters away from there. If they could reach it, they would be able to get away while shooting down the pursuers one by one.
It happened at that moment.
A high pitched noise echoed and all of a sudden, a strong headache struck all members of ITEM. No, it wasn't only them, several others among the pursuers also suffered the same. And among the confusion, three people wearing some kind of dark green uniform stepped closer towards them. "Serves you right, Esper scum. If you think you can use your power to solve everything, then think again. We'll show you what happens when you underestimate the weak."
Capacity Down.
Mugino had heard about it, but it was the first time she had actually seen it in action. Just by being there, it disabled her power… no, her whole body was slowly giving away. Frenda and Kinuhata were already on the floor. They probably tripped over while they were running.
But it was Takitsubo that was taking it the worse. She was rolling around on the ground and screaming like crazy. Was it because of the effects of the Body Crystal?
"Take it." The green uniformed boy on the center ordered, but his allies did nothing.
"But… they don't have it. We got the wrong people!"
"That's impossible! I saw it with my own eyes! That girl was running with the silver suitcase just a moment ago-..."
They stopped once they looked over the girl in question. She was ignoring them completely and was trying to reach out to something with her hands instead. Following the direction she was crawling to…
"Tsk… they got us."
Yes.
A small white car was driving away.
Someone used the confusion and snatched the prize right beneath everyone's noses. And the only ones that could stop them were unable to thanks to the Capacity Down.
…
Inside the car, there was only a single person. He was driving in a straight at a stunning speed of 300 km/h, which seemed to be impossible for such a small and old looking car, all the while talking to someone over the phone.
"Yes, I have it with me. It wasn't a problem at all. They all self destructed like we thought they would. The Remnant is now ours, and it shall serve for the sake of our justice. No one can stop DA now."
…
"No one, hmm? How cute."
Little the man knew, however, that he was being watched.
Of course, there was no way anyone from the science side would figure it out on their own.
The spiky red haired boy sitting comfortably on the spinning chair inside the director's room at the top floor of the northern building in District 7 could clearly see the whole scene only by placing the playing cards on the correct pattern.
These weren't your regular playing cards though. You could look everywhere in the world, but you would never find cards like these.
Clovers. Hearts. Swords. Diamonds. These were your usual playing card suits, and on the hands of a skilled enough magician, the symbolism could be pushed to the limit in order to link them to the minor arcana.
But the cards used by him had none of these. Instead, the suit was colored yellow, and had the shape of an eight-pointed star.
"Hehehehe… this will be interesting. You will serve as a perfect bait. I wonder when will they show up… I hope it's soon. Let's begin the second round of this insane game of ours!"
Between the Lines
Nayuta left the building with clear anger burning in her eyes. What's up with those two? I know I'm a Kihara, but still… to leave me out of it now is too much. And it was Onii-san that insisted for me to investigate - ah!
"Oh no, I completely forgot to tell him!" She was already on the other side of the crosswalk when she remembered, and the traffic light had already turned green. If she were to go back, it would take at least half a dozen minutes. "What a waste of time. But then again, I could…. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!"
With an impish smile on her face, she picked up her phone and started writing an email while walking back home. "It's not like I didn't want to tell you Onii-san. It's your fault for kicking me out before I had the chance to. Aaaand send!"
…
"... Hmm? What is this?"
Asuka let those words out without thinking. Since she lived alone, it wasn't unusual for her to talk to herself while she spent hours upon hours in front of the many monitors that were the only light source in the room.
"Oh! Nayu-chan sent me a message? Don't tell me she found something?!"
It has been a while, but Asuka and Hishiro had left her the task of finding clues as to who had hacked into New Pointer's communication channels. Nayuta herself managed to hack into it as well, so it was possible for her to figure it out. "Let's see… hmmmm... "
She was quite excited when she started reading the email, but before long her expression became grim. "Wait… what?! Why would they do that?"
After finishing, she could only let out a sigh and sink on her chair. "Maybe I should tell Seria-chan about that? But… no, who knows what she will do if she finds out? The best thing to do is…" Cutting off her words there, she looked towards the third drawer of her table and reached for it with a bit of hesitation.
Inside it, she picked an old phone. Unsurprisingly, the batteries were dead since it had been several years since she had last used it. After plugging it on her computer just get enough charge to turn it on, she went down the nostalgic contact list until she reached the O section and called the first number listed there. "Hi, Oyafune-san? It's me, Asuka. Y-yeah, I know, it has been a while. Sorry, I'm just calling because we have an emergency. I'm really, really sorry to get you involved, but I need your help with something."
Hello and welcome back to the insanity that is the Dark Side of Academy City! And brace yourselves for the ride because I'm going all out this time! I mean, seriously, this is the first chapter of the arc and it's above 11K words! Usually the first chapter is the shortest one (omg I hope I don't end up having 30K words chapter in a couple of months, I'll go literally insane if this happens XP). But with almost everything set up - save for a couple of things I'll reveal at the beginning of the next chapter - we'll be going down the roller coaster all the way to the end. And I don't mean just the arc, I mean for the whole story.
Yes, it is time to announce this: we have reached the halfway point of the story. I gotta admit, it's kinda amazing I managed to make it this far. This is probably the first time in my life I worked so long on a project. I can't say I believed we would get here when I first started this, but here we are anyway. Thank you all for your support so far, and I hope you stick with me to the end, because everything will be way more fun from now on.
So… a lot of new stuff introduced here. The underground cassino, the relation between Aleat and Heaven Canceler, the child version of Lilly and, most important, the Remnant hunt. The reason I was looking forward to this so much is the huge untouched potential the Remnant arc have (or used to, I'm not exactly up to date with all spin offs, so I apologize if any of them expanded on the subject). I made sure to make the incident start way before the main series addressed it so I can dig really deep on every conflict that could be happening behind the curtains. Look forward to what will come out of it.
But I'll cut the talk short here. The chapter is already long enough as it is.
Replies:
Guest: 1. I was afraid you would react this way for a while now… sorry. Well, she is not dead yet, so there's that. Not gonna comment on what will happen to her.
2. I think I phrased it in a confusing way last time. I didn't mean the actual battle royale arc, I'll just be borrowing the concept. All of the factions that had appeared up until now will have a role in my version of the Remnant arc, even if a minor one. I know it may be too much for me to handle, but I still want to try it.
3. Didn't know! There are a lot of spin off material I still haven't touched so it may take a while for me to get to this one, but sure, more Index is always good news!
Ghost14lebi: Thanks! I hope I can keep you entertained to the end!
As always, thanks for your support - specially for the Guest that always find the typos in my text (is it okay to call you my official proofreader?). Please leave a review if you have the time to spare and I'll see you all in the next chapter!