Ch.261Sacrifice (6)

Sonia thought she had lived a fairly satisfying life. Though she regretted not ending up with the young master, she had been able to assist him as far as her strength allowed.

[“Did you really think that was enough?”]

Perhaps.

If only the young master would live.

[“You didn’t even utilize 10% of my power. If you had fought properly, you would have won by an overwhelming margin.”]

Even if that were true, it was already too late.

Combat wasn’t something where victory could be determined by power alone.

Phosphorus was a veteran avatar who had crossed the line between life and death many times. The quantity and quality of experience were different.

She had given everything, and the outcome was decided.

Now, she only needed to accept death.

[“…I suppose it can’t be helped.”]

Sonia’s consciousness faded.

Yet her body continued to move.

***

In the suddenly reversed atmosphere, Phosphorus doubted his own senses.

Whether he truly existed. Whether he possessed an independent self. Why he was here doing this. He couldn’t even tell if the thoughts he was having were his own.

‘Descartes.’

Kigigik, kigik.

The black figure stretched its body.

The sound of friction from the drive parts made it clear that the body was damaged, but she showed no sign of it.

Rather.

‘She’s smiling?’

The woman’s lips curled upward.

A fierce killing intent emanated from her piercing eyes.

As she passed by Eidel Rheinland and Zernya, she spoke.

[“Stay back, youngster.”]

“Cartesia…?”

[“I believe I told you not to speak my true name so casually.”]

Cartesia.

That name was famous among the outer gods.

And now she stood before Phosphorus, borrowing the body of an avatar.

“How…”

This was impossible.

“…How can an entity of Descartes control a machine?”

Perhaps she was a hybrid of Maxwell’s lineage, or had a special ability she’d been hiding all along. Come to think of it, the idea that Descartes could use inanimate objects as avatars was nonsensical to begin with.

Cartesia didn’t answer the question.

Instead.

Crack.

“…!”

Phosphorus couldn’t move his body.

It wasn’t a physical restraint or binding. It felt as if the nervous system controlling movement had been completely blocked for some reason.

His mind was being controlled.

Tap, twirl.

Cartesia kicked the fallen calipers on the floor, picked them up, and twirled them in her hand. She wore a satisfied smile.

[“For a broken body, it moves better than expected.”]

Dangerous.

Having made this assessment, Phosphorus converted his entire body into flames. The spreading fire circled behind Cartesia. He recalled his objective. Kill Eidel von Rheinland and everything would be over.

‘He might be clever, but his physical body is weak. If I can land just one proper attack…’

His thoughts went no further.

The vertically plunging calipers pierced Phosphorus’s core.

The core was caught between the blades. Phosphorus’s consciousness flickered.

Cartesia struck the core as if playing golf. Phosphorus, consciousness and all, flew dozens of meters. He only stopped after colliding with the outer wall of a still-burning building.

Rumble.

The building’s exterior wall collapsed.

“Kuheouk!”

No one knew what had happened.

Not only Zernya, but even Rustila Kersil and Ireh Hazlen with their superior dynamic vision couldn’t precisely see what had happened to Phosphorus.

In the brief moment while dust was flying, Rustila cautiously approached Cartesia.

“You’re… not Sonia.”

[“…”]

“…You’re an outer god, aren’t you?”

[“You’re a woman of few words.”]

Cartesia pointed her weapon at Rustila. Rustila didn’t back down. Instead, she kept her sword pointed toward where Phosphorus was while looking Cartesia directly in the eyes.

“Now that I hear your voice, I’m certain.”

The additional effect of the Grand Triangle. The mental power values of humans within a certain radius are integrated.

Since Eidel’s mental power value was ‘immeasurable,’ Rustila could now have a normal conversation with Cartesia.

“You… aren’t a bad one.”

[“Stop with the nonsense and take good care of that youngster.”]

“See?”

All constellations are good and all outer gods are evil.

That’s what she had always been taught.

But textbooks aren’t always right.

The world doesn’t always follow such orthodox patterns. Among the many outer gods in the world, you can find eccentrics like this one.

Though she still didn’t understand why she was watching Eidel’s back.

“Fight with us.”

[“You’re a strange one. Interesting. Do couples really grow to resemble each other?”]

Cartesia snorted.

[“Sorry, but it’s already over.”]

“…What?”

Patter.

The purple flame that had been hit by pebbles blazed fiercely. Phosphorus, having recovered his original form, stood up. The flames spread like bacteria, consuming the surroundings.

“That thing is still alive…!”

[“Even so, it’s just a house of cards.”]

Phosphorus staggered.

“You damn… half-baked outer god!”

Phosphorus charged forward like a runaway steam locomotive. His movement appeared very fast to Rustila, and almost like teleportation to the others.

Only Cartesia read all his movements.

Chaeng——!!

The calipers and scythe met, spitting out a metallic sound.

Cartesia deflected the attack like flowing water. The calipers slid up along the blade of the scythe.

Phosphorus thought his opponent was aiming for the core in his head. So he pulled his head back and cast the <Eruption> skill. It was a technique that spewed flames forward. He judged that with luck, he might even burn Eidel behind him.

But right after making that judgment, what Phosphorus saw was not Cartesia burning in flames, but a high, clear sky.

“This is…!”

[“Have you realized?”]

<Thought Delay>.

A high-level technique that only superior gods among the Descartes lineage could use.

Phosphorus finally understood.

He had been defeated from the beginning.

The core of a Darwin-type avatar is a vessel that holds consciousness. An avatar without a core has no intelligence. An avatar without intelligence is nothing but a mindlessly strong monster.

Cartesia had penetrated this principle, and therefore could have destroyed his core at any time if she wanted.

If he had wanted to live, he should have fled as soon as he sensed something was wrong.

“…Huh.”

A stupid sound escaped his lips.

Crack.

Belatedly, as his core shattered, Phosphorus’s consciousness rose to some distant place, then scattered.

Thud.

At the same time, Sonia collapsed. Cartesia’s possession had ended.

“Sonia!”

Eidel rushed over in confusion and embraced Sonia. Unfortunately, she was barely recognizable.

Looking down at Sonia, then up at the sky, then lowering his head again.

A quiet rain began to fall.

Rustila and Zernya couldn’t say anything. They had witnessed her sacrifice firsthand. Rustila rarely whispered to Zernya.

“To save her master and then leave…”

“Not her master. The person she loved.”

“What… do you mean?”

“Come to think of it, you didn’t know? That android loved our husband. Not as a robot, but as an intelligent being. She didn’t follow the android’s prime directive of ‘always being devoted to the master,’ but learned love and chose to sacrifice herself instead of her master.”

Rustila’s mouth gaped open.

That’s when it happened.

[“Cough, cough! I-I’m alive…!”]

The third fragment of Virgo.

It was the fragment of Sacrifice. She gasped for breath as she frantically untied the chains of fire binding the outer god. Her eyes met Rustila’s.

“You are…?”

[“Oh, you…?”]

“You’re the fragment of Virgo, aren’t you?”

[“I-I finally found you. I found my master!”]

Sacrifice clung to Rustila and then, upon meeting her sisters, sobbed loudly. She briefly explained the arduous process she had been through.

[“That’s how Queen Aurora separated us and placed us in crystals!”]

[“So, what about the youngest? What happened to her?”]

[“Probably in the Queen’s hands…”]

[“I understand for now. I’m so glad you’ve returned.”]

The fragment of Sacrifice contracted with Rustila without further words. It was an unexpected windfall. Now Rustila was just one fragment away from having them all.

It was then that the fragment of Sacrifice sighed.

[“I saw everything from the beginning. I don’t know what to say… it’s so embarrassing. Being controlled by an avatar. I really am a fool, aren’t I?”]

“No, you were trapped in the crystal. You were caught off guard, so it couldn’t be helped.”

[“…Both your predecessor and you are good people.”]

The fragment of Sacrifice turned her gaze to Eidel. He was silently stroking Sonia’s head.

[“Are you Eidel von Rheinland?”]

“…Yes.”

[“I’ve heard you’re humanity’s hero. One who has saved countless lives…”]

“I couldn’t even save everyone here.”

Eidel scanned his surroundings. Zernya was pulling out triage tags to separate the dead from the severely injured. With each black tag torn off, Eidel let out a hollow laugh.

[“…As an apology, I have something to offer.”]

The fragment of Sacrifice raised her arm and opened her hand. A warm-looking starlight flowed from her fingertips.

[— ‘Fragment of Sacrifice’ uses <Restoration>.]

Restoration.

It was her unique skill that returned people or beings to their state before they suffered misfortune.

The starlight that spread through the air settled on people, healing their burns and scars.

Even Sonia, who had been blackened, regained her fair skin. Since the skill couldn’t restore clothes, she remained naked.

[“Originally, this technique was meant to save maidens who lost their purity through unfortunate events. But the essence lies in sacrifice. For those who, willingly or unwillingly, gave up their rights to others or had them taken away… I can bestow this blessing.”]

The fragment of Sacrifice bowed her head in respect.