Chapter 327
Chapter 327
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 327
Chapter Title: Sister's Shadow
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He muttered quietly to himself, then turned his gaze toward me. It looked like he had a pretty good idea why I'd called out Jason.
The reason I'd brought the human-faced parasite here was simple.
Jason had hunted other players in the past. In the process, he'd clashed with Isabelle's colleague, too.
I wanted to confirm, right here and now, what had happened to those players he'd hunted.
"You know about Isabelle, right?"
"Yes. Seeing her face brings it all back."
"What did you do to her colleague?"
"Killed her and took her perks."
At Jason's blunt confirmation, Isabelle squeezed her eyes shut. Her eyelids trembled faintly.
Watching the scene, the Sky Mother placed a hand on Isabelle's shoulder. While she comforted her, I retrieved Jason's parasite form once more.
"In the end, all that's left is your sister's shadow."
Isabelle murmured softly in a trembling voice. She barely managed to compose herself, gently pushing the woman's hand away. Then she let out a heavy sigh laden with meaning.
"That Aimorph freak acting this kindly must have a reason. What do you want?"
I shot a sidelong glance at the Sky Mother, signaling her to get started.
｢About the plan to transport the Coldbloods from underground... I think we need to revise it.｣
"Revise it?"
｢We have our own constraints here, so increasing the parasites isn't feasible.｣
I'd decided to keep quiet about the fact that lacking parasites could be a weakness. As we'd discussed beforehand, she twisted the truth just a bit in her delivery.
｢So we need the Coldbloods to move on their own. Or you could go with them.｣
"As I said before, that's impossible..."
｢I'd like you to lead them—your family—to the end.｣
"My... family?"
At those words, Isabelle's eyes widened.
｢I don't know why you've stayed here. But is it more important than being with your family? They need you. No—you need them, too. Not just to survive here, but to keep living from now on.｣
Her advice was something only she could offer, having lost her own family right before her eyes.
Isabelle, having just heard of her blood sister's death from her mortal enemy, couldn't muster an immediate rebuttal. Her antennae twitched, her gaze wandered—she was clearly deep in thought. Knowing the girl was torn, the Sky Mother waited silently for her decision.
After a long stretch of time, she gave a small nod.
"I'll do as Seo-ah sister says."
After wrestling with it, the path she'd chosen was to side with us.
｢Really?｣
"Yeah. But following your idea will take some time."
｢That's fine. We need prep time on our end, too.｣
"And you, morph freak."
'Yeah?'
Isabelle called out to me.
"Sister's clone, PS-111—she's on this planet, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can I see her before we escape?"
I couldn't agree to Isabelle's request offhand. The reason I'd only brought MPS-05 was because PS-111 had trouble moving around freely. Arranging a meeting would require considerable preparation.
'She seems to know that.'
Her eyes trembled ever so slightly—she had a rough idea of the difficulties involved. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but her desire to see her outweighed it.
'Not impossible, though.'
Now that she'd agreed to join us, there was no reason to linger long at the fortress. We could use the warehouse I'd rented in advance.
"Might be possible at a specific location."
I told her the spot where it could work. The familiar place from my mouth made her nod right away.
"If it's there, we can meet."
"Good. Tomorrow, same time, that place."
It turned out even better than expected. I'd even considered threats if things went south, but no need now.
Right before leaving, Isabelle bowed her head to both me and the Sky Mother. A far cry from yesterday's silent departure.
"Glad it went smoothly."
｢Still a long way to go. For us, and for her.｣
"Yeah."
The Sky Mother kept glancing back midway, worried about the distraught Isabelle.
I checked MPS-05, now back in my backpack.
"All good?"
"No issues."
Her response was the usual, but I could sense her intrigue with the situation. She'd always wanted to meet her original. Wasn't the main body back at the mansion pondering what to ask Isabelle?
'Guess I should think about my questions, too.'
About the illusions, the Cult rankers on this planet, and more.
I could wait until after leaving Berzan-02, but chipping away at it whenever chances arose wasn't a bad idea.
With those thoughts, we boarded the shuttle and returned to the mansion.
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｢Nothing special happened today?｣
"Yes. There's a headache remedy the 'tool' takes, but it won't be a major variable."
｢Medicine, huh. That won't be stopped by pills anyway. Let it be.｣
"Also, during sleep, increased brain activity and rising compatibility metrics were confirmed to have an effect."
｢Oh?｣
"Yes."
｢Intriguing info. I'll pass this along 'over there.'｣
As always, Isabelle reported the day's events to the presence beyond the stele.
｢You're doing well. Keep watching, report if issues arise.｣
"Yes."
｢Then that's it for today...｣
"May I ask one question?"
｢Hm?｣
She usually just reported and ended it, but today was different. That afternoon, she'd heard words that marked a major turning point in her life.
Having heard them, she had to confirm—no matter the risk to her life.
"I'd like to ask about Cynthia, who guided me into the plan. Is she well?"
｢Cynthia? Why the curiosity?｣
A reaction as if questioning why bring her up. Isabelle continued naturally.
"Thanks to her, I avoided addiction to this world. My service to the plan is all because of her."
｢Hmm.｣
"She left midway for the great plan's execution elsewhere, but I've been worried about her. That's why I ask."
With that, she prostrated before the stele.
From the silently hovering stele came the modulated voice once more.
｢Cynthia's diligently working on the plan. No need to worry.｣
"Is that so?"
｢Of course. She even went elsewhere specifically to find your sister. Naturally.｣
"......"
｢I'll pass on your sentiments to her. That's all.｣
With that, the other side cut off the stele. The deactivated stone clunked down before her head.
Even after it powered down, Isabelle remained prostrated, not rising. To hide her emotions.
Right now, she was gripped by a rage she'd never felt in her life.
They'd fed her a bald-faced lie.
Her sister Penelope had died long ago, yet they'd lied to her all this time. Even hiding it when one of their own had perished.
Her path forward was now crystal clear.
To shatter their so-called 'great plan'.
The next morning, I left the mansion with PS-111 in tow.
Today, the Sky Mother was staying behind with the kids.
We'd disguised the mansion's owner as away on a long trip, but an empty house would still look suspicious. If someone visited in person, having a slave overseer show face was far more natural. The place was remote enough that visitors were unlikely, but better safe.
"Looking forward to meeting someone who knows me."
"You saw her yesterday."
"Seeing with my own eyes is a first."
She covered her eyes with her hook claws. The red camera lenses replacing her eyeballs dilated and contracted repeatedly.
She'd been like this since yesterday. Despite her body being mostly mechanical, her excitement and anticipation shone through.
'First time meeting someone who knows the original.'
Ever since seeing the mutant screamer production footage on Pyra Eleven's ship, PS-111 had grown curious about her source. I'd never taken her to Star Union space to satisfy it, though.
Isabelle, twin sister to the dead 18th-ranked Penelope, should grant that wish.
I boarded the shuttle with PS-111 and headed to the warehouse district.
A massive area where warehouses formed blocks stacked like a giant pyramid. At the pyramid's base sat the large one rented under Charas's name.
After landing in front, I got out first. Authenticating via Charas's terminal pad on the automated warehouse, the blast door slid open immediately.
PS-111, at the controls, maneuvered the shuttle inside.
"No cameras here. You're good to come down."
At my words, the biomechanical entity scuttled out on her eight long legs.
"When do I get to see 'little sister'?"
"Few more hours."
"Twins, so genetically identical to me."
"Maybe."
"Facing another uncopied 'me.' A striking experience."
Truth be told, the odds of them being identical as she thought were low. The twins thing was from the real world.
Trends so far showed players dropped into Space Survival born with bodies utterly unlike their originals. Not just changed—not even always human.
So the sisters likely shared only species, little else. They'd arrived in this world at vastly different times, too.
But explaining that would complicate things, so I kept quiet.
Time passed, and her arrival neared. As we waited, a knock echoed from outside.
'She's here.'
I operated the warehouse terminal to open the door. There stood Isabelle, cloaked head to toe in cloth robes and a gray mask. Cameras everywhere, so the disguise for sneaking in.
She gave me a slight nod in greeting, then hurried straight to PS-111.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm PS-111."
"......"
Isabelle silently removed her gray mask and reached out. PS-111 lowered her body to make her face accessible.
Her slender, delicate hand moved slowly before touching PS-111's face.
Upon contact with the cold metal skin, Isabelle's hand quivered. I could feel her emotions surging.
"...It's really you, sister. Just like I remember."
She tossed the mask aside and caressed PS-111's face with both hands.
"You know my face?"
"Of course. I looked at sister's face for years—how could I not?"
"I'm a Coldblood. My current face differs greatly from the original."
At PS-111's words, Isabelle shook her head firmly.
"Never wondered why your once-broken sister ended up like this?"
"It's thanks to the energy from my main controller and the organics provided by the Aimorph."
"Then why this form? You could take something more efficient."
PS-111, over 80% machine, never hesitated in speech. But this time, even she couldn't deny it.
'Now that I think about it... yeah.'
It was something I'd never questioned until Isabelle pointed it out.
'Current PS-111' formed after destruction in the ice horror fight, absorbing No. 26's psychic power and my organics. Compared to Star Union's mutant screamer, the visual differences were stark.
Even Pyra Eleven's designed mutant screamer looked like a haphazard gene mash-up, not the refined form she had.
'Like there's an intangible mold shaping it.'
Especially the face. It was inching closer to a human woman's—save for the red eyes and pale chrome skin, barely distinguishable.