The Lifting Veil (1)'Could it be Exodus? Why is this already completed? And a user with top-tier synchronization rate at that. This is truly an absurd harvest.'
My consciousness gradually cleared as I felt myself returning to reality. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a pure white ceiling.
An unfamiliar... ceiling.
A 'beep-' sound lingered in my ears. It felt like a sharp iron skewer was stabbing through my brain.
"Ughh."
My head hurt. Probably side effects from being forcibly kept in sleep state.
My body wouldn't rise easily. Looking around, dozens of restraint straps like those used in psychiatric wards were tightly binding my body.
An ordinary person wouldn't dare move, but for me wearing X, this was no more challenging than being caught in a spiderweb.
Whooosh-
As I exerted strength to rise, I easily freed myself from the restraints without significant resistance.
"Huu-."
My back felt stiff from lying down so long. Just as I leaned back to stretch, I spotted strange objects in one corner of the room.
"Why are there so many Aris units?"
Human-sized mechanical devices contained figures resembling Aris. There had to be at least thirty of them.
I slowly approached the rightmost Aris unit. Through a single pane of transparent glass, her appearance was unmistakably Aris.
"X, do you know what these are?"
[Scan results indicate androids. Contain components impossible to manufacture with this world's technology. Production method remains unknown.]
"So they're not living beings then."
[Female-type AI equipped androids.]
Then there's nothing to hesitate about.
Crash-!
I shattered the glass wall and thrust my hand into the Aris-shaped android's chest area.
A pulsing heartbeat throbbed against my fingertips. The metallic smell of blood filled the air. Without hesitation, I grabbed it and yanked it out.
Snap, sizzle, crackle, pop.
Wires attached to the heart snapped with sparks flying. Drenched in blood-red fluid, it could easily be mistaken for a living human heart. But closer inspection revealed it was clearly an artificial heart with plastic-like texture.
The Aris heart in my hand glowed brightly before vanishing completely.
[Congratulations! Quest succeeded. Customization feature has been activated as reward.]
I noticed a moe girl face icon appear next to my inventory icon. When I mentally selected it, my currently equipped accessories appeared. The uterine tattoo that had been tormenting me all this time. The accessory's official name was 'Curse of the Nightmare Demon'.
Enough is enough. Time to remove this.
As I willed it to unequip, the uterine tattoo gradually faded until it disappeared completely. The penis-sized clitoris also returned to its original form. Most importantly, the lewd electrical stimulation constantly tormenting my uterus and clitoris vanished, restoring me to peak condition as if reborn.
"Huuu~ Now I can finally live. Thought I'd have to stay like that forever."
The unequipped 'Curse of the Nightmare Demon' appeared in the customization window's inventory. It seemed I could re-equip it if desired. Though tempted to trash the damned thing, I decided to keep it just in case.
But where is this place? Aris MK3 mentioned taking me somewhere in the dream, but I can't recall. Wait, didn't she say something about enlisting me?
"X, why did you stay idle while I was dragged here? You'll take responsibility if I get conscripted, right?"
X's auto mode activates when I'm unconscious. So why did it let Aris MK3 bring me here?
[I was also inside the dream created by the androids.]
So Aris MK3's capture function affected even X? How laughable that non-living beings could dream. Whatever, it's in the past now.
First priority is escaping. I refuse to enlist in this lifetime too.
As I moved toward the exit, a series of 'thud, thud, thud' sounds echoed - something repeatedly opening.
Turning around, I saw the glass walls of all android containers opening simultaneously. The figures emerging while leaning on the machinery repeated the same phrase:
"Hostile action detected. Manual dictates immediate disposal."
Danger. Must escape.
I instantly lunged toward the door. But three androids already blocked the exit. Just as I prepared to slice them apart with Hardcore Saw, a powerful impact slammed into me.
Boom!!
My vision shook violently. Only after crashing into a wall did my body stop. Through the shattered door, I saw a 5-meter tall yellow robot. Its massive fist had clearly struck me. Damage wasn't severe though - just caught off guard. No way I'd lose.
As I rallied my fighting spirit, the yellow robot's cockpit opened, revealing another Aris lookalike. At this point, the endless Aris appearances were becoming grotesque. Since they're not living beings anyway, I'll just smash them all.
"Wait, stop! Don't destroy my squad members! You attacked first!!"
"You kidnapped me first?"
"Ah, sorry about that."
All the Aris units simultaneously bowed deeply in apology. Their quick admission cooled my fighting spirit.
After waiting until completely calm, I asked:
"What are you?"
The Aris piloting the yellow robot proudly declared with somewhat arrogant expression:
"I'm Aris MK1, the original brain type. These are assault-type MK2s, and the one who brought you here is scout-type MK3. Kids, return to your stations and lie down."
The MK2s obediently returned to their machines.
"Of course I'm mechanical too. A model specialized in computational functions. But I have a soul, so I'm the original."
Spouting nonsense about souls. Regardless, since other androids obey her, she must be an administrator-class 'original' Aris. Since communication works, maybe she'll help me escape.
Aris blinked with childlike innocence and asked:
"But how are you wearing Exodus? Being chosen by that picky bastard is impressive."
Instant irritation flared. This little suck-up, it's not like I wanted to wear this.
"Dunno. This crazy bastard suddenly latched onto me."
[Without my intervention, probability of Qualified One's death by fall was 99.91%, paralysis 0.09%.]
X's ever-monotonous voice somehow sounded wronged.
"Well, with that synchronization rate, Exodus would naturally approach such a Qualified One."
Huh? She said it so naturally I almost missed it - how does she know the name 'Exodus'? Plus only X calls me 'Qualified One'?
"How do you know about X?"
"Obviously because I participated in its development."
I aimed my minigun at Aris. She raised both hands in surprise, but I kept the barrel trained on her.
"You made this? Then you're the administrator? Can you restore my body to male?"
"I-I only participated in initial development! I just thought... after he disappeared... we'd never see Exodus completed..."
"Who's 'he'?"
Aris hesitated before reluctantly answering:
"Founder of Honor of Brothers, Professor among Professors, Arpien. I'm telling you because you're Exodus' user. That he created such a vicious combat suit like Exodus is top secret."
"Arpien made X? Where is that bastard?"
"Told you, he vanished. He discarded all his achievements like trash and left us. We don't know where he went."
Aris didn't seem to be lying. So this Arpien guy created X.
A thread of hope appeared in my seemingly impossible journey to regain my original body.
Lowering my weapon, Aris smiled brightly and suggested:
"Lots to discuss. Instead of this, let's talk over coffee."
Coffee...! The beverage that vanished when the previous world ended. How does Aris know about coffee?
Curious whether she truly recreated pre-apocalypse coffee or just named something else similarly, I silently followed her.
We sat side by side at a bar. She ordered coffee from a tuxedo-clad, one-eyed robot bartender. With skilled motions, it began brewing. What soon appeared before me was real coffee.
"How do you know about coffee? Who told you?"
"Arpien. He already knew the answers in every field - food, music, literature, fashion, organizational management, mechanical engineering. Even the most brilliant leaders and scholars became mere children before him."
Nostalgia and resentment seemed to flicker in Aris' eyes.
"He's humanity's savior. Only his demonic knowledge and leadership can save humanity from Oist."
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