Volume 3 Chapter 76: Only to My Sister

A room lined with several white spheres, large enough to fit a few people each, stood silent. Inside, Alice positioned herself in front of me and Tesea as if to reconfirm her plan.

“Alright, you two! The super amazing Alice-chan is going to single-handedly infiltrate the Floating City, Pharmament, crush the boss of the Sacred Heavens, Lumelherc, and bring back all the intel. That’s how it’s going down!”

“Ah, yes.”

Alice pointed at us enthusiastically, her mood remarkably upbeat.

In short, she wanted to hog all the credit.

“Ahh… I can’t wait… The whole world’s been after the Floating City, and I’ll be the hero who brings it within reach. Everyone will admire amazing me! Kuhihihihihihi! This is an achievement that makes the ‘Spirit King’ look like nothing! Kuhihi!”

She hugged herself, her cheeks flushed as she trembled in delight, her expression one of pure ecstasy.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less. If anything, I’d prefer it this way. Fame brings nothing but trouble. I have no interest in rank or recognition, and my dark attribute doesn’t fit well with such things anyway. Happily, I’ll leave the title of “World’s Number One” to Alice-chan.

As Alice reveled in her own world, I gave her a half-hearted round of applause. Meanwhile, Tesea nudged my arm.

“Hm?”

“Noil, are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, it sounds like a hassle. Let’s just hurry and go see Sierra.”

If I can live a life where I can fish, that’s enough for me. That’s the conclusion I’ve reached after all these years.

Hearing my answer, Tesea smiled and nodded.

“Hehe, alright. This way then.”

Leaving the still-tripping Alice behind, we approached one of the spheres.

According to Tesea’s explanation, this was a small airship. Though it didn’t look the part at all.

Activating her 《Analysis》 ability, she traced a circular motion on the sphere’s surface, a common activation gesture in this city.

With that, part of the sphere opened, almost like a mouth.

Inside, there were four simple seats, and in front of one of them were two small spheres, likely for navigation.

I couldn’t fathom how it worked, and I still couldn’t believe it could fly. Probably something I’d never understand in my lifetime.

“Haah… This city really sucks in so many ways.”

At some point, Alice had come up behind us, arms crossed, looking disappointed.

She pushed past us and stepped into the sphere with heavy steps.

We followed her in.

“Sure, it’s impressive. Super impressive, but…”

Alice plopped herself into the pilot’s seat and began tracing circular motions on the two floating spheres in front of her, over and over again.

“Bet it’s just like this.”

Then, on one particular stroke, the upper half of the sphere suddenly turned transparent, giving us a full view of the outside. It seemed the machine had powered up.

Simultaneously, two pointed panels extended outward from the sphere, visible even from inside.

Alice muttered under her breath.

“Does that even have a point…?”

“Probably… wings?”

When I answered her, Alice scowled in frustration and ran her hands through her hair, messing it up.

“Everything in this city’s half-assed! What’s the deal with these wings?! Do we even need them?! Wouldn’t it fly without them?! There’s no sense of care at all! Damn it! This is so uninspiring! Are they mocking me or what?! This is no reference for anything, dammit!”

Indeed, this city was careless in many ways. For Alice, a creator, such details were probably infuriating. Tesea and I, however, couldn’t relate, so we just exchanged awkward chuckles while watching her rant.

“Haah, haah… Hey, Tesea, how do we move this thing?”

Having vented her frustrations, Alice placed her hands back on the two spheres, calming her ragged breathing as she asked.

Her expression remained intense, but it seemed she’d let it go for now.

Tesea hurriedly began explaining.

“Ah, um. It seems the movement is linked to the two spheres. Push forward to go straight, pull back to reverse. Spreading them apart makes it ascend, and bringing them together makes it descend. Each sphere controls the left and right sides separately, so—”

“Yeah, got it. That’s enough.”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t be the one to pilot…?”

Tesea asked nervously, but Alice scoffed.

“Hah, you’ve never piloted one before either, right? Then obviously I’ll be better. Even if you had, I’d still be better.”

Such confidence.

But it might actually be true. Alice wasn’t speaking without basis. She had a lifetime of experience handling magical tools.

Creators, in general, are skilled with devices, and Alice was undoubtedly a genius among them.

It’s best to leave it to her.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Got it, leave it to me.”

Tesea seemed to agree, as she said nothing more. However, just as she smiled at Alice and moved to close the entrance, she suddenly stopped, as if recalling something.

“Oh, right. We can’t leave like this. I’ll need to go open the exit.”

With that, Tesea stepped out of the sphere.

She was right—flying in this enclosed space wouldn’t get us out of the Floating City, Pharmament. There was probably a switch or mechanism to open the exit.

“So, any last-minute forgotten items, you useless servant?”

“I’m not a servant, you know.”

Though I won’t deny the “useless” part.

As I watched Tesea working on the wall near the sphere’s entrance, fiddling with some controls, Alice casually threw the question at me.

Forgotten items, huh… If anything came to mind, it was that journal. However, that thing was well beyond what we could handle.

Better to leave it to Alice. For now, aside from Tesea and me, only Alice knew about the journal and that room. As erratic as her behavior could be, I doubted she’d misuse it. She wouldn’t publicly reveal its contents just to create chaos in the world… probably. Her unpredictability did make me a little uneasy, though.

Besides, without the 《Analysis》 skill, it wasn’t something easily deciphered, so I didn’t need to worry too much.

Another concern was the Sacred Artifacts—the Soul Orb series—that had been stored in the Floating City.

The creator called them “joke items,” but anything that manipulates souls is inherently dangerous.

We’d given up on bringing them all out due to their sheer number, but there was always the risk that the Sacred Heavens, Lumelherc might misuse them.

Destroying them all had been an option, but considering the journal’s owner, I hesitated. And, most notably, Alice had fiercely opposed it.

Still, without Aizon, those people were little more than a disorganized mob. It seemed they’d do nothing but offer prayers in his absence.

A tragic story, really—they were effectively brainwashed puppets by now.

Only Aizon and Tesea were reportedly capable of entering the Great Sacred Orb, so I wasn’t too worried about that either.

Once the Sacred Heavens, Lumelherc was gone, the artifacts would likely be properly secured in a suitable location.

At this point, there wasn’t anything left undone for me in the Floating City.

Alice already had all the information Tesea could provide, and the rest would be up to the authorities.

“It’s fine. I haven’t forgotten anything,” I replied after a moment of thought.

“Hah?! What’s your problem now, dumbass!” Alice snapped, glaring at me.

“I mean it—no issues.”

“What’s this? Could it be you do want to be Alice-chan’s servant after all? I guess I’ll allow it! Kuhihi!”

She misunderstood completely, but it wasn’t worth correcting her. This was why I had bad timing. I mean, isn’t it normal to understand the context? Or am I expecting too much? Ah well.

Seeing Alice sit back down in the pilot’s seat with a pleased expression, I sighed.

It wasn’t worth the effort to clarify.

Suddenly, the wall in front of the sphere opened wide, revealing the way out.

Through the open exit, I spotted Tesea standing a little further away, making a large circle with her arms over her head, signaling success with a cheerful smile.

It seemed our escape was secured.

The sight of the outside world—hidden beneath a blanket of clouds—felt oddly nostalgic. I let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, I clearly felt a change in my body.

“Ah…”

I couldn’t help but let out a small sound as I flexed my hands a few times to confirm the sensation.

Yes, there was no mistaking it.

“What’s up with you?” Alice asked suspiciously.

“It seems… I can use mana again.”

When I told her that my power had just returned, Alice’s face contorted into an expression of utter disbelief.

“Now, of all times…”

“Truly…”

It was all over. All that remained was to leave.

What terrible timing I had. I couldn’t help but feel exasperated with myself, but even that gave way to a strange sort of admiration. Truly, my dark attribute had reached its peak.

“Well, at least it’s good news. Now you can serve properly as my—”

“Alice?”

Alice, who had been speaking in a mocking tone, abruptly shut her mouth.

Her eyes widened, and she sprang to her feet, turning to shout.

“Useless servant! Get Tesea back here, now!!”

The sheer force in her voice made me snap my gaze to where she was looking.

And in that instant, a chill ran down my spine.

At the entrance to the room, a white giant stood, unnoticed until now.

Its body, twice my size, had a mechanical appearance, with shields of various sizes covering its back, shoulders, and legs. It looked as if one of the spheres had transformed into a humanoid form.

Its head, devoid of a neck, housed two glowing lights that radiated a cold, lifeless brilliance.

Sierra’s 《Witch Hunter》 was a massive suit of armor, but this was different. I’d never seen anything like it before.

However, I knew what it was from Tesea’s descriptions: this was one of the city’s defense mechanisms—a Machine Soldier.

Why it appeared now, I couldn’t fathom. There wasn’t time to ponder. I immediately activated 《Hunter》.

Fortunately, the Machine Soldier was still far away. Tesea, having noticed its presence, was already running toward us. With the distance between them, I could reach her before the Machine Soldier did and bring her back.

Or so I thought, until my body froze mid-step.

“Tch!!”

“No…!”

The Machine Soldier raised one arm and fired it like a projectile at incredible speed. The detached arm caught Tesea, who had been sprinting toward us.

The arm, connected by a wire, retracted back to the Machine Soldier’s body and seamlessly reattached itself as if nothing had happened.

It all happened in an instant.

Tesea hung limply in its grasp, unconscious.

Though I had heard from her about the combat capabilities of the Machine Soldiers, this was far beyond anything I had imagined.

Now I understood why Alice had lost her composure.

Having seen this thing firsthand, it was no wonder she had none left.

“Damn it…!”

Alice glared at the Machine Soldier with eyes burning with hatred, her teeth grinding audibly.

We were so close—just a few steps away from escaping.

And now, this?

Escaping with everyone intact seemed…

“Alice.”

Impossible.

“You need to leave. I’ll handle it.”

Yet, as if by perfect timing, my power had returned.

“What?! Are you insane?! That’s suicide! You can’t—”

“There’s no other way.”

I cut off her furious objections. The only option was for her to escape while I held the Machine Soldier off.

Abandoning Tesea wasn’t an option. This was the only course left.

Alice would call for reinforcements and return. In the meantime, I would buy us time.

I wasn’t planning to die, but… that might be the outcome.

Even with the Magis Gear, I doubted I could defeat this thing.

Still, that wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

The worst would be all of us getting captured here.

Losing all hope.

That was something I couldn’t allow.

Because if that happened, I’d break my promise—the one I made to Tesea. I swore I’d get her out of here.

Perhaps because she reminded me so much of Sierra, I couldn’t help but see Tesea as a little sister.

And to my sister, I could never tell a lie.

Alice didn’t try to stop me as I stepped out of the sphere.

She knew—logically, at least—that there was no other way.

Still, her voice, tinged with frustration and anger, called out softly behind me.

“Don’t you dare die… You’re my servant. If you die on your own, I’ll kill you myself.”

Dying twice would be a bit much.

With that thought, I closed the sphere’s hatch behind me.

At the same moment—

“《Guardian》!!”

I switched my Magis Gear to a massive shield, intercepting the Machine Soldier’s flying arm.

“Ughhhh…!!”

The sheer force threatened to crush me, but I pushed back with everything I had.

The shield cracked in countless places after just one attack, but I managed to deflect the arm.

During that brief clash, Alice’s sphere soared into the sky.

A passing grade.

Now, all I needed to do was buy enough time for her to get far away.

I dispelled 《Guardian》 and reactivated 《Hunter》.

With no mana bottles left, conserving mana was imperative.

The Machine Soldier retracted its arm and began to approach me with deliberate, almost human-like movements. It had ignored Alice and prioritized me.

There was no mistaking it now—

“Do you think sinners who mocked the gods deserve mercy? As a devout follower, I, Aizon Sgehargen, shall deliver judgment on behalf of Lumelherc-sama.“

Its lifeless voice echoed through the room.

“Suffer a torment far worse than hell and atone for your vile blasphemy, you filthy heretic.”

The Machine Soldier before me was none other than the man who should have been dead—Aizon Sgehargen.