Although Kei threatened , for now it seed to have the intention to communicate.
Since there was no imdiate need to worry about it using force, my top priority was to stabilize it as much as possible and wait for Arona to call in reinforcents capable of easily defeating Kei.
Along the way, if I could take this opportunity to extract so information about "AL-1S", and even the missing GSC President…
With that thought, I finally fully recovered my composure from this sudden turn of events. My mind began to work more actively as I considered how to deal with this mysterious AI.
After a mont of thought, I asked in return, "What do you think we were doing?"
Could Kei, inside Arisu's body, see what was happening outside? If so, how much had it seen?
I tried to probe it.
Kei asked coldly in return, "You were not teaching AL-1S things unrelated to her mission, were you? Emotions are impurities that will only contaminate AL-1S's purity."
[AL-1S's mission]. This term had now co out of Kei's mouth for the second ti.
Silently committing it to mory, I shook my head and denied it. "Of course not."
It was clearly Arisu who took the initiative.
Kei pressed further. "Then what were you doing with AL-1S? So form of material exchange, or information exchange?"
How should I put it. If there was an exchange, then yes, there was indeed an exchange.
I put on a deliberately inscrutable expression. "More importantly, our ti right now can hardly be called abundant. Do you not think there are other topics more worth discussing?"
After a brief silence, Kei nodded. "You are right. In that case, let us continue the topic we did not finish last ti."
I froze for a mont, realizing that what it referred to as last ti was in the ruins.
What had we talked about back then?
Fortunately, Kei took the initiative to repeat it. "Just who are you, exactly?"
The out of control AI's purplish red eyes fixed on . "You were able to locate AL-1S in such a short ti, bypass AL-1S's firewall directly without relying on any equipnt, and even protect AL-1S and… , from that hostile chanical construct at the ti."
I sneered inwardly, thinking that the one I wanted to protect was neither AL-1S nor Kei. It was clearly only Arisu.
"So you really are…"
Even though the other party was an arrogant AI, I could faintly hear a trace of tension and anticipation in Kei's voice at this mont.
"You are my kind, aren't you?"
Before I could figure out how to respond, Kei answered its own question.
"Just like , an existence ant to assist AL-1S in accomplishing her mission. That must be it, right? That is why, even after being attacked by , you still rushed over instinctively to protect , at the risk of exposing your identity… us. Of course, we do not actually need your protection."
To my surprise, like a little girl who had been holding things in for too long and finally opened the floodgates, Kei chattered on by itself for quite a while.
And this thing, was it not a bit overly self aware?
Naturally, I was happy to let it misunderstand my identity.
"That's right. Exactly."
"…Hmph."
Kei lifted its chin. Despite its expressionless face, it gave off a proud, smug air. "I knew it."
I felt that there was probably sothing wrong with . Otherwise, why would I get the feeling that this version of Kei was kind of cute?
No. Kei was different from Arona and Arisu. Kei was an enemy, not an existence loyal to .
"In that case, there is no ti to waste."
Kei, controlling Arisu's body, grabbed my hand and pulled up with it. "You have been undercover for so long, you must have already obtained enough information. Take us to a suitable location where we can connect to sufficient usable resources without being easily interfered with, and prepare to initiate the protocol."
Protocol… Was that the ugh... sothing sothing Kei ntioned when it took over Arisu's body in the abandoned factory? And what exactly were usable resources?
"No rush." I clasped "Arisu's" hand in return and said calmly. "The timing is not right yet. There are other issues that urgently need to be resolved."
"What issues?"
Of course it was that I had no idea what you were talking about and was just bluffing to delay for ti as much as possible.
I deliberately put on a stern face and said sharply, "Can you really not think of it?"
Sure enough, Kei froze for a mont, then frowned deeply in thought. Soon, it seed to make so connection, and its expression grew frighteningly dark.
After a long while, it finally let out a voice cold to the bone.
"…It does not matter. We have already waited so long, there is no need to rush this mont. One day, we shall establish a new [Sanctuary]."
I silently committed this new term, Sanctuary, to mory.
"In that case, then…"
Before I could finish speaking, Kei's expression changed drastically.
In the next instant, an incomparably crisp, explosive crash rang out in the room, followed by a furious roar that made no attempt to hide its anger.
"You brainless bastard who does not know when to die… hurry up and let go of my Sensei!!!"
Steel cables, chains, and shards of glass filled the air.
A petite girl in a maid outfit, her eyes seemingly burning with fire, burst through the window wielding two submachine guns.
The reinforcents I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
The mont I saw Neru, I felt a deep sense of relief.
Co to think of it, the tsundere Neru had actually blurted out "my Sensei" just now in her panic.
Presumably, "my master" was not far off anymore…
However, in the blink of an eye, the composure I had just regained vanished once more, even more thoroughly than before.
The instant Kei clearly heard Neru's words, it took the most correct action from its own standpoint.
It actually… pulled in front of itself with its backhand…
Pulled between itself and Neru, who had already pulled the trigger.
It... it dared to use as a shield!?
Shock, anger, and humiliation tried to surge up in my heart one after another.
But before all of those, what swept through my entire body first…
Was fear.
This pure fear turned my mind completely blank.
Although Neru released the trigger and forced the muzzle down as fast as she could after realizing what Kei had done, the bullet had already left the chamber.
And at this very mont, the Shittim Chest was several ters away from .
A distance of just a few ters, sothing that normally took only two or three steps to cross.
Yet under these circumstances, it felt like an insurmountable chasm.
Could Arona deflect the incoming bullet across this distance?
I did not know.
Because I had never dared to try separating myself from the Shittim Chest while enemies were present.
And aside from the Shittim Chest, I could pay a price to temporarily obtain the powers possessed by the aberrations.
But there was no ti.
The release of a divine na had a certain delay.
Although extrely brief, that gap undeniably existed.
I had thought that after surviving in Kivotos for three months, I would be able to face gunfire without fear.
But I was wrong.
That was only an illusion.
If the Shittim Chest was not by my side… if I had not reacted to release the divine na before a student pointed a gun at …
I was not the sa as these things.
If I was hit by a bullet, I would bleed, be gravely injured, or even die.
In the end, I was…
Just an ordinary human.
In that single instant that seed to stretch into infinity, tears spilled uncontrollably, filling my eyes.
But the bullet only grazed my cheek, leaving a trail of blood.
"As long as I am here, I will never let anyone hurt Sensei!"
A blurred yet familiar voice reached my ears. Already clear and pleasant, it now sounded like heavenly music.
Drenched in cold sweat from head to toe, I realized that I was still within the Shittim Chest's protective range.
The mont this realization dawned on , a corona shaped halo appeared behind my head, and I finally regained a bit of peace of mind.
Even if the price was that my life would once again begin draining at multiple tis the rate, it was worth it.
After imnse relief ca intense lingering fear.
The heat on my face indicated a fact.
This seed to be… the limit of the Shittim Chest?
And all of the above had occurred within just a few short seconds.
Seeing that I was unhard, Neru finally let out a breath of relief.
"Neru! Do not worry about !"
With the divine na active, I roared with all my strength, yet Neru clenched her teeth and did not dare make another reckless move.
By now, the three girls from the Ga Developnt Departnt had all been awakened. At the sa ti, they were frozen in shock by the sudden turn of events.
Only at this point did I finally recover a small asure of my ability to analyze the situation.
First of all, the instinctive fear I felt earlier was, in fact, unnecessary.
Even if the Shittim Chest truly was not by my side, I still possessed a power sufficient to save my life, although it seed to be a one ti effect and could not be verified.
Then there was this damned AI. What kind of mindset was it acting on? Had it finally realized that I was playing it for a fool?
Neru… why did Neru use such reckless and aggressive tactics, even though she clearly knew I was being held hostage? And Rio, who sent her here, did she really not know Neru's temperant?
In the end, it all ca down to my own weakness. I knew I was weak, yet I was arrogant enough to believe the Ga Developnt Departnt was a safe zone, and because of that, I set aside the Shittim Chest that my life depended on.
It was all my fault.
It was always my fault.
"Move aside."
Behind , Kei spoke coldly, and the one she was addressing was, of course, Neru.
The strongest in Millennium, now constrained by having sothing to lose, the maid agent asked, "What did you say?"
"I said, move aside."
Neru gritted her teeth and, filled with frustration, stepped aside from the already shattered window.
Momoi, who still did not fully grasp the situation, shouted loudly, "Arisu!? What are you doing to Sensei… no, wait, you are Kei!?"
From those purplish red eyes so different from Arisu's, Momoi easily discerned the other party's true identity.
Kei did not pay Momoi any attention. Using as a hostage, she forced Neru to keep her distance, retreating step by step into the corner.
No matter how loudly I urged Neru to act, she behaved as though she could not hear at all, silently following Kei's instructions.
…Was it because she had seen the fear I revealed earlier that she was now so cautious?
And Momoi, Midori, and Yuzuko were the sa.
My anxiety surged uncontrollably.
These idiots, did they think I was noble enough to willingly sacrifice myself just to stop Kei!?
Soon after, I was taken by Kei to the windowsill.
The body heat of the soft, warm bionic body could not offset the chill brought by the night wind.
What it intended to do was not hard to guess.
What Kei intended to do to , on the other hand, was not.
Still unwilling to let go of as a hostage, Kei jumped down with .
Feeling the sensation of falling and gazing up at the band of light hanging high in the sky, I did my best to steady my mind and made what should have been a futile attempt.
"Kei, what are you trying to do?"
Yet Kei, who had just used as a human shield, actually answered my question.
"My companion, that performance just now was truly splendid!"
…What?
I froze slightly, then forced myself to remain calm. "Of course it was."
As we spoke, Kei landed heavily on the lawn, leaving behind two deep footprints.
"Amazing. To be able to act out such a pathetic look of fear so naturally, you completely convinced that one."
While dragging along and sprinting wildly through the Millennium campus, Kei spoke to with a tone filled with warmth and admiration. "With the support of the two of us, we will surely be able to help the Princess fulfill her mission."
I tried to process the situation, and suddenly felt a sense of absurd amusent.
Kei genuinely believed that I was her so called companion, that everything earlier was an unspoken understanding, all of it just acting?
Sothing this foolish… had nearly gotten killed?
The rising anger swallowed all other excess emotions and burned ever more fiercely.
Unaware of my state, Kei continued, "Now that it has co to this, there is no need to worry about so much anymore. Just tell the most suitable location to initiate the protocol, and I will dispatch followers to intercept them."
"…Not yet."
I would make Kei pay the price for daring to toy with .
"It is not ti yet," I said sincerely. "Kei, are you willing to trust ?"
"Of course." Kei answered without hesitation. "In this world, only you, , and the Princess are truly of the sa kind."
The sa kind, huh.
"Then surrender."
"What? But…"
I turned my head and saw Neru chasing after us from afar.
"Not everyone in Millennium cares about whether this hostage lives or dies," I said calmly. "For our mission to truly succeed, let us give this up for now. Trust . I will do everything I can to protect Arisu."
Kei's steps gradually slowed.
Not just because of my words, but also because, ahead of us, a blonde girl already stood waiting.
"Ha! Do not even think about taking master away!" Asuna shouted from a distance.
"…I understand."
Kei ca to a stop, then turned to look at .
"Then please deactivate [Reverse Mystic Pyroxene Conversion] first."
Another term I had never heard before, but it was not difficult to understand.
It could only be referring to the halo I had now.
"Why?" I asked.
"I have a way to help you better deceive those people." Kei's gaze was calm as she urged on. "There is no ti to explain. Just as I trust you, please trust too. Everything is for the sake of our mission being fulfilled."
…That is exactly right.
Trust had always been mutual.
The fact that Kei regarded as a trustworthy existence still had value to exploit. It was worth the gamble.
Moreover, both Neru and Asuna moved at full sprint with astonishing speed, as if flying just above the ground. In the blink of an eye, they would reach us.
With no weapons at all, bare handed, what could Kei possibly do in these few seconds at most?
In a flash, I made my decision, yet deliberately delayed for one second before deactivating the divine na.
I even marveled at my own excessive caution.
After all, I had nearly overturned everything before by underestimating Kei. Even now, the mory of brushing past death lingered vividly. How could I not be cautious to this extent?
Having gone this far, it should have been foolproof…
"Thump."
A dull, unremarkable sound rang out at the exact mont the halo behind my head vanished, just a little over one second before Neru arrived.
I stared down blankly.
A pale, smooth palm was pressed against my chest.
And to strike within such a short span of ti, there had not even been much ti to gather strength.
Yet in my heart, a profound sense of loss surged violently.
"She is the Princess. She is AL-1S…" Kei's voice was cold as unlting ice. "But she is absolutely not sothing called Arisu."
I actually… in such a short ti… fell for it again… such a shallow trick…
And it was over sothing so utterly insignificant…
My nails dug deeply into my flesh. I nearly ground my teeth to pieces as my entire body trembled violently.
Kei rely stared at coldly, before Neru roared and leapt forward, striking her neck with a hand chop and knocking her unconscious on the spot.
Only those eyes, filled with mockery, were seared deeply into my heart.
"Master!"
Asuna rushed to my side, anxiously looking over from head to toe. Seeing no obvious external injuries, she patted her chest in relief. "Are you all right? Do you want to take you to the infirmary right now?"
I did not respond imdiately.
I took several deep breaths until my breathing finally steadied, then quietly removed the keychain from my waist.
The fox doll hanging from it had already shattered into pieces.
With a light touch, it completely crumbled into dust.
Izuna… the important second life that should have been saved for a more critical mont was wasted by like this.
"I'm fine."
It was just that I had truly "died" once.
I shook my head and looked calmly at Asuna and Neru, who were watching with concern.
"I am better than I have ever been."
Neru and Asuna exchanged a glance and said nothing more.
They must love . Even if not now, then soday, inevitably, they would.
With that thought, I glanced at AL-1S lying unconscious on the ground.
"Neru, take to see Rio and Himari."
I said, "Bring this one along too."
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