***
...Where is this place?
A dark space where nothing could be seen enveloped her.
Ah. I see.
Have I been defeated?
Was it too much after all?
Virdel reflected on her situation.
The battle for dominance in the Imagery that followed the moment she touched the Sacred Flame.
But the result was as could be seen.
Haah.Then is this hell?
Well, if this is hell, maybe hell isn't so bad.
A space filled with pitch-black darkness.
Her mind, floating in that space, was empty and void.
Is this the end?
Thinking that way, she felt a sense of lightness.
If there was one last lingering regret, it would be not being able to meet 'him' in person?
I really wanted to see him, though.
A life spent caged and as a scapegoat.
A hellish life that was longer than the days she had lived normally.
In a life that was like a pit, the community was practically her only world.
However.
Reality was cruel, and the virtual could not become reality.
Her world was essentially false.
No matter what she accomplished in the virtual world, it had no connection to reality.
It was in the midst of this that she met him.
A great being who pulled the community into reality.
A being who made her realize that her world was not false, but real.
Karlstein Babylon.
Should I have listened to his advice after all?
He had said there was no need to respond to the promise.
Because of my desire to meet him proudly, it ended up like this.
Even if he were to call me a 'useless woman' right now, I would have nothing to say.
I really was useless, after all.
....
So this is how it ends.
Am I satisfied with this?
....
A space where terrible memories of the past prick her entire body like needles, and all sorts of thoughts swirl around.
A space where it felt as if her unconscious had risen to the surface, swelling like a balloon and ransacking her mind.
As she was gradually forgetting herself and slowly sinking into the abyss as if falling into a dream...
[Zzzt... zzt... Backup... System... Switching.]
A mechanical voice.
[ER... ROR]
[ERR... OR]
[...Forced Awakening... zzzt... Process... Allocation...]
Ha. Haha.
I wonder why I feel like laughing?
It was as if she could hear his voice.
-Lifelong Bluadge.
What have you done to be resting?
Did you think you could run away without my permission?
What are you doing not opening your eyes right now?
Although the mechanical voice coming from the suit was clearly not his, somehow it sounded like his voice.
Right. My life was not my own.
-First of all, do not ever get hit around by anyone. That’s the first condition.
...I got beaten. Am I disqualified?
Although his words were truly selfish and tyrannical.
Those words that became a guidepost for her, who had lost all her siblings, parents, and clan, and had no reason to live.
Perhaps they were words spoken after seeing through her lack of attachment to life?
There was no need to burn with hatred towards humans.
That one sentence was enough to become her driving force in life.
In a colorless, ashen world, he was the existence that moved her, whose wick had burned out.
Beep-
[Emergency Recovery System Activating]
This must be the minimal safeguard he mentioned.
Somehow, I feel like my senses are returning a little.
...Right. I won't give up until he directly says he doesn't need me anymore.
And so I prove my usefulness and receive a reason to live.
That was the implicit deal between him and her.
In the pitch-black, dark Imagery, the girl's outline slowly began to appear.
In her right hand was a dazzlingly bright sword.
-Isn’t this fascinating? You definitely have talent. Hmm. I'd like to introduce you to someone I know. That punk is quite knowledgeable in that field, you see.
Yes. The talent he recognized is in this hand.
I don't know who this 'someone I know' he's talking about is.
But there's no doubt he showed interest in my talent.
-Well, don't overdo it. Do what you want to do.
His casually spoken words clearly contained 'consideration', 'recognition', and 'interest'.
So it's inevitable that I would become even more curious.
I wonder what kind of person he is?
Why did he show kindness to me?
How do I appear in your eyes?
To get answers to these questions, I can't end it like this.
Sseup- Haah-
As her outline in the dark Imagery where nothing could be seen fully appeared and took a clear form...
She demonstrated with her own hands the dazzling achievements she had gained while researching the stele.
Saaaak-
No. This much is still not enough.
The experience and enlightenment gained from the unknown space she passed through while moving to this place called Murim.
I need to incorporate the experience and enlightenment from that time as well.
The strange passage where she had to endure pain as if her entire body was being torn apart. It was clearly a place where she could feel a bizarre yet mysterious sensation.
The experience in the Dimensional Passage gave tremendous inspiration in interpreting and mastering the stele inscription.
She pours out all those achievements this time.
The achievements gained through the stele inscription were not simply for the Dimensional Slash(?). As far as she could feel, the key points of the stele inscription were clearly converging into one.
In order to reach a higher dimension.
As if a mortal were to oppose an immortal.
As if she wished to reach him, whom she could not reach.
Martial arts to overcome something that could not be overcome.
Yes. That was the will and belief of the one who created the stele inscription.
She began to perform an unnamed Sword Dance in this dark mental space. This Imagery of hers.
Saaaah- Saaaah-
The sword of light in the Imagery cuts through the darkness.
Like the hand he extended to her life, which had previously only been dark.
Slash-
Without a moment's hesitation, a flash of light split the space.
[Kyaaaaaaak!!]
Yes. This feeling. This is it.
***
Just before Virdel Awakened.
The girl in red armor was touching her body with a satisfied smile.
"Hmph hmph. As if something like that could resist?"
The woman who had succeeded in taking over the girl's body hummed a joyful tune.
"Ah, now I feel like I can live."
Having barely escaped with just her body after receiving a fatal wound to her core, and then having to fight for dominance in the Imagery.
It was inevitable that there would be a mental burden.
Even so.
A mortal was a mortal.
She had given her all, if only because the girl who dared to oppose her was so impudent.
The girl's mind was probably buried deep in the abyss of the unconscious, losing her sense of self.
"Hmm? But..."
She looked down at the body she had newly acquired.
"I thought the body would be just as innately talented, but..."
Grind- Grind-
"It's quite uncomfortable, isn't it?"
The brow of the woman who had stolen the girl's body furrowed slightly.
"Hmm. Since I'll have to use it for a while anyway, should I do some work on it?"
And somehow, she could feel the essence of the clan within her body.
Is it about the level of a Rootlet?
Although it’s nothing compared to the Fruit.
But still, this is something.
Thanks to this, there should be no problem with body modification.
She began to burn the impurities in her body using the power of the Sacred Flame.
Since I've decided to do it anyway…
More cleanly.
More purely.
More perfectly.
Whoosh-
She began to adjust even the position of bones and muscles.
Crack- Crack-
"This is why mortals are..."
The twisted and awkward positions of bones and organs found their proper places, and the body began to transform into one optimized for handling Sacred Blood.
If someone from Murim had seen this, they would have been astonished, calling it Overhaul Rebirth.
Crack- Crack-
"Ah... I can't forget about that either."
She began to search for the coordinates of the battlefield using the remaining power of the 《Fruit》.
"Now, as long as I just open this and fix it in place… Fufufu."
Everything was going smoothly.
As the saying goes, it was 'a blessing in disguise'; the crisis on the battlefield was nothing, and everything was going smoothly.
If I recover my strength like this and get my hands on the treasure island-like spoils?
Fufufu.
I wouldn’t envy even those haughty 《Branches》.
Just as she thought that.
"Hm? It's still remaining? That can't be?"
She frowned as she sensed the remnants of the girl sleeping in the unconscious of the Imagery.
"As if this mere-"
Before she could finish her words, she could feel herself being torn apart from the soul level.
[Kyaaaaaaak!!]
***
"Haa. Haa."
What on earth happened?
I don’t know what’s going on.
My head is throbbing, and my stomach is churning.
Stagger-
And what is this?
The current body doesn't feel like my own.
Awkwardness.
A sense of discomfort.
The problem was that it felt incredibly comfortable, though.
Stagger-
Still, it seems I need time to adapt.
"Ha, haha..."
Lifelong…
It seems it's still valid.
She painfully began to access the community and leave a message for him.
***
"What's the situation?"
[Unstable wavelengths are still being observed.]
"Hmm..."
Karlstein sank into contemplation, pressing his fingers to his temples.
"Since it's near the Barrier, we can't easily dismiss it."
[That is right.]
Hmm.
Unstable Astral Wavelengths observed near the Barrier.
What on earth happened? This has never happened before.
Considering the importance of the Barrier, it was not something that could be easily overlooked.
"But it's not like we have a clear method either."
[We have taken all the measures we can from our side, but...]
"The Barrier is a place where no amount of attention is ever enough."
[Or should we use this opportunity to...]
"..."
Are you still talking about that?
Karlstein could understand what Aria was trying to say.
War.
She meant to advance beyond the Barrier while subjugating the Kaiju.
[We've made plenty of preparations so far, have we not?]
"That's... true."
The Galactic Empire was by no means weak.
They had already completed preparations for the great war against those bastards.
***
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