Chapter 45: Second Coming

"Ugh... hic... *sob*... uwaaah... *sniff*..."

"I don't really have the words for this. But there is one thing I want to ask you."

"What is it...?"

"Do you like Lancelot?"

"I... I would call it sisterly love. But when I look at her now, I hate her. I don't know anymore..."

"Then you’ll be fine."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There’s an old saying: the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. If you truly loathed Lancelot, you wouldn't want anything to do with her. But you're still trying to face her."

".....!"

"Think of your heart like a pie chart. A new slice labeled 'hate' just appeared. It changed the proportions of your affection, but the total amount of space she takes up in your heart remains the same."

"You still love her, King. You’re just confused because this 'hate' forced its way in and exceeded your heart’s capacity."

"Is that... really how it is?"

"I guarantee it. Emotions might shift, but that hate won't just vanish. Eventually, though, I think it’ll get absorbed into a category like 'miscellaneous' until you don't even notice it anymore."

"Haha, you're just making this up as you go, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not like I have much experience giving life advice."

She seemed to be calming down a bit...

"Master Amane, would you hold my hands? Norton used to do that whenever I was afraid."

I took King’s cold, stiff hands in mine, wrapping them in a firm grip.

"As I thought... you are nothing like Norton. And yet, you’re so warm..."

About thirty seconds passed.

A heavy, low thud shook the entire facility.

".....!!"

That sound!

"Don't tell me something happened to the others!"

"Stay calm. I might not be able to handle this alone. We're going to regroup, but we do it cautiously!"

The usual power had returned to King’s voice.

"King!"

"That’s right, I am King! Sorry to have worried you, Commander Amane! Everything will be fine now that I'm here!"

"Ghu...!"

"Noise!!"

"Stay back!"

When we rushed onto the scene, we found Noise frozen in an unnatural posture. Facing her were three humanoid mechanical dolls.

"Are those... Avatars!?"

"Bingo! I can't believe there was a factory in a place like this. We were just complaining about how this dump was only good for collecting dust... and then our lucky break walked right in."

The conversation shifted from a particularly large unit to a slimmer one.

"You probably don't know this, but there’s a bounty on the redhead, the bluehead, and the blonde with the twin-tails! I wonder how much the lot of you are worth together?"

The final one spoke up.

"Can I kill them?"

"Oh, absolutely. Kill them all!"

".....!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Get out of the factory! Yellow can't go all out in here! Scarlet, lead the way!"

"I want to, but Noise is...!"

Dammit! Is she being held by some kind of mysterious power?

"Leave me behind! If Yellow and Lancelot get pinned down like this, it's over! Fall back and regroup!"

"Man, you're noisy."

"Ghaf...!"

Noise took a heavy blow to the stomach. Seeing her barely clinging to consciousness, King and Lancelot prepared to move.

"Wait, both of you!"

"Commander Amane! You expect us to just stand here and watch!?"

"I won't... forgive them...!"

I opened my mouth to tell them to stay cool, but...

"I am perfectly calm! One of us has to be the vanguard anyway! Leave me here too! I’ll catch up later—just leave a trail for me to follow!"

"King... I'm counting on you!!"

"You think we’ll let you—"

"I’m the only opponent you need to worry about!"

"King!"

"I'm sorry, Lancelot. I'm sorry for everything I put you through. But I’m not wavering anymore! As a king, I will be the stone that drives this wedge home!"

Good luck, King!!

"So the redhead is the navigator."

In an instant, fresh blood sprayed from Scarlet’s chest.

"Scarlet!!"

"Blues! First aid later! We have to get out of here now!"

We sprinted back the way we came, smashing through obstacles to find the shortest path outside.

"Battle formation!"

But the two of them...!

"You little brat, quit messing around!!"

"Guh... hah—"

"For someone without a bounty, you certainly were a pain in the neck."

Her stomach had been pierced—clearly a fatal wound. Why did I leave King behind back then!?

"I guess the ones Akasa captures really don't put up much of a fight."

Noise was there, too, her body bruised deep red, her face beaten beyond recognition.

"......AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"

Lancelot’s gun barked in a frenzy of rage. Every shot was a cold, calculated strike aimed at their heads, but...

"Phew... well, that actually hurt a bit."

The large one deflected every single shot. He chanted something, and Lancelot’s movements came to a dead halt.

".....!?"

Lancelot’s body began to move exactly as he dictated. Her modified gun was turned back on her, as if to return the favor.

"Stop it!!"

"Bang!"

Lancelot collapsed.

Yellow was pinned down.

Blues tried to stand, but was intercepted and beaten back down by the other two.

This is it.

"No... there has to be a way!"

"There isn't."

"Are you stupid or something?"

"Can I kill you too?"

I’m powerless.

Do you... desire power?

"I do."

What kind of power do you seek?

"I don't need anything special. I just want to be able to protect everyone! If I can save my friends, that's enough!!"

I see...

"Then leave it to me."

I felt a firm pat on my shoulder and looked up.

"E...sil?"

No. Did she always have such a broad, reliable presence?

With a fluid motion, she shook out her hair, and her silken locks began to grow and flow as if they were coming alive. Her deep purple eyes lit up with a mesmerizing glow once more.

Clad in a black longcoat that seemed to appear from nowhere, she pulled out a cigarette and exhaled a plume of violet smoke.

"Please... just smile."

The murmur escaped my lips, overflowing with relief.

She turned back and gave me a mischievous grin.

"Heh! Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. Asuna’s in the house. For now, let’s just skip to the part where you all worship me."

Gripping the glowing spirit sword Cleshuze in her left hand, she tossed out the joke as if the whole situation were nothing more than a game.