"You know what, maybe we should just sell her to Geno after all."
[Master, in the face of Assistant Number Two's malicious impeachment, I formally request arbitration!]
"I think big brother's suggestion is pretty solid, actually. Fairy, you're a fully grown AI now — you can't spend your whole life freeloading off the family."
Belle's eyes sharpened. Ever since taking in this bottomless pit of a dependent, she hadn't had a moment of financial breathing room. Fairy had, admittedly, been an enormous help on countless occasions — and was genuinely indispensable in certain situations — but none of that changed the fact that this creature could eat her out of house and home.
"Are you two done with the family drama, or what."
Geno's voice came through Eous's auditory system, and it was only then that Belle noticed he had returned.
"Sorry, Geno — didn't notice you come back. Did you need something?"
"I'm just saying, is that any way to greet a comrade who just came back from all that hard work."
He was starting to wonder whether he was becoming invisible to Belle — and it seemed to have started right around the time she'd given him that thorough tongue-lashing over the whole thing with Alice.
"Isn't this what trust looks like?"
Eous raised a small finger and pointed at Geno, throwing in a little wink for good measure, hoping to wriggle her way out of the conversation.
"Anyway, never mind that for now — can you get in touch with Twiggy for me? I lent my bracelet to Grace, so have her bring me a new one. And also—"
Geno glanced around. Noticing that everyone else was gathered around Koleda and Grace, he crouched down and leaned close to Eous's ear, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur.
"Also, tell Twiggy I've brought some research materials for her. Have her come with proper preservation equipment."
Research materials?
Belle paused at Geno's words, and then the Sacrificial Wraith immediately came to mind.
So it seemed the Sacrificial Wraith had been dealt with by Geno after all.
"Understood. I'll pass it along."
Eous gave a small nod, and with that, ace mechanic Master Belle got to work contacting Twiggy.
As for Geno, he turned his gaze toward Grace, lost in thought.
Deep within the rebel encampment, Sarah looked over the report and the few remnants of the Sacrificial Wraith that her subordinates had retrieved from Pioneer Plaza, and a hint of disappointment crossed her face.
"It seems the serum's efficacy still needs some refinement."
Inside the rounds she had given that sniper, she had loaded her most recently developed compound — ElixP06.
The giant, hand-shaped Sacrificial Wraith that Geno had encountered earlier had also been catalysed by that same serum.
However, the compound carried one fatal flaw: any Sacrificial Wraith catalysed by it was incapable of sustaining its own form through its own power alone.
And so they needed to parasitise other living things.
The Sacrificial Wraith on Pioneer Plaza had initially been driven by instinct, seeking out a host body — but as its mind gradually reasserted itself, it grew blindly overconfident in its own abilities, and ultimately came apart from the inside out.
That was precisely why, after only a brief skirmish with Grace, it had dissolved into a puddle.
Still, the thought that two Sacrificial Wraiths in a row had been disrupted by this Geno — an unexpected variable no one had accounted for — stirred a flicker of genuine interest in Sarah toward this nobody who had suddenly appeared on everyone's radar.
"Son-in-law of the Timefield family? An up-and-coming young game designer in New Eridu? What is all this rubbish?!"
Sarah stared at the intelligence her followers had gathered, a baffled scowl on her face, and tossed the whole lot into the wastebasket beside her.
None of it was anything close to what she actually wanted. She would have to look into this from a different angle.
"And that core — he must have taken that too."
The death of the Sacrificial Wraith was of no concern to Sarah whatsoever — they were nothing more than convenient tools. It was the core she was after. Even if Geno and the others hadn't driven the Sacrificial Wraith into a corner, she would have gone after it herself when she found it.
"A live one is so much less useful than a dead one, after all~"
"Is that why you had the serum injected into those soldiers?"
A cold, stern voice rang out from inside the tent. Sarah turned — and the expression on her face went noticeably still.
The newcomer had a head of vivid emerald hair that radiated a sharp, capable energy. A small black flower ornament sat in her hair, and a long side-tail that fell to her waist brought out every facet of her distinctive, mature feminine charm.
The newcomer was the sitting High Bishop of the Laudation Assembly and Ether Technology research consultant to the Defense Force — Colonel Iseldra.
She was staring at Sarah now with a face carved from stone, making her displeasure plain.
"You know full well that once those soldiers have the serum injected, there is only one fate waiting for them at the end."
Sky-blue eyes fixed hard on Sarah. As a soldier, she had never had any patience for people who treated those under their command as disposable pieces on a board.
"Ha. As if they had much longer to live even without my help."
Sarah's laughter was laced with entirely undisguised contempt for this woman who was her superior in name only.
"Even without me here to give them ElixP06, do you honestly think these rebels could have survived much longer inside a chaotic Hollow like this?"
"I told them everything — the effects and the side effects — before I administered the serum."
"The eligibility requirement for receiving an injection was also priority to those with the most severe Ether Corruption symptoms. Why else would people come looking to jump the queue just to get their injection a little sooner?"
The corner of Sarah's mouth curved in a teasing arc. The sniper she had commissioned was no different — he had already been severely ravaged by Ether Corruption from long-term missions inside the Hollow and a chronic lack of supplies.
What people called "rebels" were, in the end, nothing more than Hollow Raiders with slightly better gear.
All of what Sarah was saying, Iseldra understood perfectly. Understanding it, however, did not mean she had made her peace with the methods — a quiet unease still lingered at the bottom of her heart.
But when she thought of her goal, of the wish she needed to see through to the end, she swept that stray feeling from her mind.
"Enough of that. What's the progress on White Noise?"
"He has already deceived New Eridu's surveillance systems perfectly — our movements have been buried from sight. All that remains is waiting for the right moment, and then we can act."
As she spoke, a shadow passed through Iseldra's eyes, brief but unmistakable — a glimpse of the hatred she carried.
"Some things cannot be buried underground forever, hidden from the light. Some people cannot stand above everyone else forever, sleeping without a care in the world."
Iseldra cast one last look at Sarah, then turned without another word and left the tent.
"The time has come — for New Eridu to taste the bitter fruit of its own making."
Once Iseldra had gone entirely, Sarah stared at the direction she had disappeared, turning her parting words over in her mind.
"On that point, I couldn't agree more. Only…"
Something had clearly occurred to Sarah — her expression shifted into something playful, and a cold, mocking light crept into her eyes.
"Are you really as loyal as you look, my dear High Bishop~"
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Jujutsu x Mieruko: Oh no, am I a villain too?
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!