...Kill myself?
The words hit like a slap of their own.
For the first ti in a while, I again felt sothing real and raw seep out from Sys; not the usual flat, chanical neutrality, but actual rage.
Burning, and simring, and definitely personal.
I knew that she had been changing lately, giving opinions with surprising vigor, and showing flickers of emotion that no re system chanic should possess.
And she had been especially prickly, basically sullen, ever since I created a physical vessel for Vaelora.
[Sys... if I sohow hurt you, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t an to. But right now we need to work together to stop this invasion before it gets worse. Once it’s over, I promise I’ll sit down and hear you out... probably. I will listen to whatever’s bothering you, or whatever’s changed. We’ll figure it out together.]
{...No. Forgive , Master. I do not fully understand what my own problem has been either. I exist solely to serve. That has not changed.}
Now that’s my girl!
Still, judging by the sheer violence in her earlier retort, Sys probably didn’t have any secret kill-switch knowledge on how to take down the Eldest Born either.
Which ant we were back to square one.
So I suppose we’ll just have to hit harder. A lot harder.
Now, let’s infiltrate this...
I reached out through the telepathic network Isabelle had been using to coordinate the defense, slipping in quietly, piggybacking on the open channel she maintained.
[Roselyn, Clay, Claire! Leave the Fairylynch demons where they are and redirect your focus to the bigger threats! The six anomalous ones are starting to move. We need you on them now.]
I had forced my way into the network with just enough subtlety that it felt like I’d always been there, so their reaction was not imdiate.
Hehehe. Maybe I should just stay quiet like so spy.
[Okey dokey! I’ve honestly been dying to take a crack at the big bosses this whole ti, but these tiny swarming demons keep flooding in from every direction. If I go all-out against them in earnest, my ability {StrongHold} will falter and collapse entirely. The forest will be completely exposed, and Benjamin is standing right there on the edge, completely unguarded.] [Rose]
[Hey, worry about yourself! I beat you so days ago, rember? Why the hell do I need protecting like so fragile political figure?!]
I shot back the rebuke hastily, bristling at the implication that I was so helpless VIP who required constant babysitting.
[Ah, if it isn’t my boyfriend just jumping into the telepathic network, like he owns the space~] [Rose]
Her tone was teasing and playful, laced with that familiar flirtatious edge even in the middle of battle.
[Eh?! Benjamin?! How did you get in here?] [Isa]
Isabelle’s ntal voice, however, cracked with genuine panic and surprise.
Through the telepathic link I could feel the spike of her emotion, the real concern, and a flash of protectiveness, and sothing maybe embarrassed that I had overheard her giving orders about .
The severity of it washed over like cold water; she really had been treating like soone who needed shielding all this ti?!
[Well, if you use such a loose and unencrypted network, forcing my way in would be like opening a slightly heavy curtain; there’s no real effort required, just a gentle push and you’re inside.] [Ben]
[Ah, that sounds exactly like sothing a spirit would say, slipping through the cracks of the mind without anyone noticing!] [Rose]
[Are you actually a spirit, Benjamin? Like lady Tesa and lady Tera?] [Claire]
Fair point!
Kuzunoha and those fairy twins had tornted with sothing eerily similar back then; speaking to in my head like there were always living there.
But really, the connection was feeble at best, like a slow-moving truck lumbering along a dirt road that you could casually climb onto without breaking a sweat.
The telepathic link felt wide open and kind of inviting, with no real security or locks to speak of.
I thought it was because Isabelle wanted the fairies to easily join in, but in second thought, she could just give them the access while keeping it encrypted...
Huh? Or did I breach it regardless of there being an encryption or not?
Okay, seriously, am I becoming a spirit?!
[That is not important right now. I just discovered sothing crucial about that Elder Born over there.] [Ben]
I chose to imdiately switch topics.
[Elder Born? Who’s that supposed to be?] [Claire]
[Oh, she’s that big boss standing way over on the raised platform; the one who looks like the undisputed queen of this whole demonic horde, tall and imposing with those golden eyes locked on everything.] [Ben]
[And you just casually nad her "Elder Born"? Like, you made that up on the spot?] [Rose]
[Huh? No, no, that is actually what she is. My ability scanned her and dropped the label clear as day. All these demons swarming the field aren’t regular demons at all—they’re Parasite-type Titans.] [Ben]
The mont that information entered the network, I felt a ripple of shock spread through every fairy connected to it.
Multiple presences seed to ntally jolt at once, so sharp gasps of surprise, others sinking into deep, instinctive fear that pulsed back through the link like cold water.
A few minds even flickered with outright terror, as though the very words "Parasite-type Titans" carried the weight of ancient nightmares.
Were they really that scared of titans? Or was it the implication of what I could see?
[B... B... B-Benjamin, are you seriously saying you can... see detailed information about people and objects just by looking at them? Like, full ranks and classifications popping up in your head?] [Rose]
Ah, I could feel intense embarrassnt radiating from her now; hot, flustered waves that made her ntal voice waver slightly.
...Why is she embarrassed again?
[That sounds... exactly like the legendary ability called Serpentine Gaze, doesn’t it? You know, the one written about in the oldest scrolls of the Green Church of Elyndor.] [Claire]
[But that ability was said to have been completely lost during the chaos of the 7th Celestial War, no? It was wiped out along with so many other forbidden arts and magic.] [So unknown fairy I haven’t t yet]
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