Inside the Protagonist's Mind (3)
In Ire Haslen's mind, the Outer Deities scanned their surroundings in confusion. By all rights, Ire Haslen should not have been able to fall asleep until Sapaul allowed it. Yet she had fainted. From a single blow from a caliper, no less.
“How in the world did this happen…?”
“Cartesia clearly held back. This is her domain, after all.”
Sapaul tilted his head and continued.
“His physical strength may be weak, but he is a master of psychic attacks. Rendering one inferior life form unconscious would be trivial for him.”
Yet what frightened them far more was the mind of Idel von Rheinland—the one who had thrown that caliper.
“I cannot read a single thought from that boy.”
“Is Cartesia shielding that human?”
“Then they are simply two of a kind. Tsk.”
A Darwin-type Outer Deity spat. With a wet splat, acidic fluid sprayed across the mental landscape.
At that moment, one of the deities pointed a trembling finger.
“Th-that insane woman…”
Inside Idel’s mind, something utterly bizarre was unfolding. Popurus and five or six other Outer Deities who had been parasitizing Ire Haslen’s brain were now bound in grotesque female forms.
“Why are they all taking the shape of human females?” Sapaul demanded.
A flask-shaped Outer Deity answered.
“I share her lineage, so I understand her well. Those of our type transform captured foes into the lowest race we can imagine and toy with them. We consider it the most dishonorable form of ruin.”
“Then Cartesia views humans as the lowest of all.”
“It is the only sentient species she knows.”
Ribbons, collars, aprons—the sight was absurd. They had even been mentally altered, their final dignity stripped away. The effect of Binding.
The bound deities screamed across the mental link.
Sapaul turned his back on them.
“They swore to become your subordinates. Why do you abandon them?”
“Because they are weak.”
Weak Outer Deities held no value in Sapaul’s plans.
I laid the unconscious Ire down carefully, then turned to the director.
“Director, I will take responsibility for this girl.”
“Out of the question.”
I had expected as much.
“No matter how powerful the Rheinland family may be, some things simply cannot be done. Do you think this country still operates on a caste system?”
“I am not suggesting we release her outside.”
“Then what?”
“It means I will bear the consequences for knocking her unconscious.”
I held out my hand to Sonia. She blinked, sighed, and opened her purse. What she produced was an electronic check for ten million credits.
“I understand she cannot be released into society immediately. Therefore, if you could transfer her to the northern sanctuary…”
That was how I brought Ire to the northern sanctuary.
The sanctuary was a place watched over by countless stars. No matter how powerful an Outer Deity might be, they could not act freely within the Ether energy radiated by the Constellations. It was essentially a religious facility of this era. I do not believe in gods, but I have always liked this cathedral-like atmosphere. In a world where demonic possession is commonplace, a treatment center complete with a choir truly served as a shelter for humanity.
After contacting Seti, Rustilla, and Professor Feynman, Sonia and I watched over the protagonist together.
“You are not even acquainted with this girl. Since the treatment fees have been paid, would it not be best if we left now?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am the one who knocked her out. I need to see her open her eyes before I go.”
This was a matter of basic human decency.
Ire did not wake easily.
Ire Haslen
(299,792-ε)/299,792
Infinitely close to death. The moment ε reaches zero, her life ends.
There was one way to help her.
◈ Potion-type item.
◈ Once only, resets the user’s phron level to zero.
◈ Can only be obtained by defeating a Descartes-type Outer Deity or earning their favor. Impossible to acquire through normal quests.
I had been saving it for an absolute emergency. I had not even used it on my own sister Seti. Yet here I was, about to give it to a girl I had never met before.
“…What a waste of a thought.”
That was directed at myself. How could I weigh the value of a human life? If I could save her, I would.
Ire Haslen
0/299,792
(Phron level reset. Value does not increase inside the sanctuary due to Blessing of the Stars.)
“Sonia.”
“You called?”
“Let’s go make some food.”
I rose from my seat and opened the door to the prayer room. There would be a great many things to discuss once she woke up.
It had been so long. Truly so long since she last felt this comfortable. The cackling voices of the Outer Deities were gone, and her perpetually weary body felt impossibly refreshed. It was as though she were bathed directly in the blessing of the stars.
Ire opened her eyes cautiously, letting them adjust to the ceiling lights. She slowly sat up and looked around.
The sanctuary. She knew this place. In several loops she had used it as a base instead of Alcatraz.
Her mind felt strangely clear and clean. It seemed she had crossed over to the next loop.
“Haa…”
She let out a deep sigh. When would this regression finally end?
She did not want to break, yet she kept being broken. The moment she left this place the Outer Deities would begin their assault. She would have to endure all of it, reposition the holy relics, secretly nurture her allies, and eliminate several human traitors.
She steeled herself. This hell would not end until she defeated the Outer Deity Sapaul. Keeping that truth close to her heart, she reviewed the previous loop.
What did I miss?
Idel von Rheinland. Why was that villain still alive? That was the greatest anomaly.
She quickly traced the error in the sequence that the Outer Deities’ mental interference had previously hidden from her.
…Now that I think about it, I never killed Zernya.
Zernya von Adelbein. She had committed no major crimes during her academy days, but she was a Constellation contractor who would one day become one of humanity’s greatest threats. Perhaps failing to eliminate her early had created this variable.
That was when the door opened.
“You’re awake.”
Two people entered the recovery room. Ire’s eyes flew wide.
“You…!”
She reflexively scrambled into the corner. The face was different, but… black hair and amber eyes. And that perverted villain who dragged around a navy-haired android maid everywhere he went.
Idel von Rheinland.
He had to die immediately. Only then would there be no future complications.
Ire fumbled at her waist for a gun. Where had her weapon gone? It should have carried over to the new loop. Unless…?
“Why do you look so surprised?”
“S-stay back!”
In desperation she hurled whatever her hand touched. She suffered from a mild case of androphobia. It was hardly unreasonable—every time she fought male villains possessed by Outer Deities, she had been forced to endure their leering eyes and obscene language.
If I rape the girl before me, will I receive 500 phron? Thank you, Outer Deity!
She had put a bullet through the head of every such weed she encountered. They did have the excuse of mental corruption, of course. Yet even without possession, every man Ire had ever met from the frontier planet known as the slum of the universe had been defective in some way.
And Idel was the worst of them. In every loop he had sexually harassed her without hesitation, then met a miserable end—whether at the hands of an Outer Deity or her own.
That repulsive creature was now walking toward her.
“Get away! Die! Don’t come near me!”
She had nothing left to throw. In the end Ire grabbed the bedside table and hurled it.
Sonia caught it effortlessly and sighed.
“What an ungrateful person. Though our young master did embed a tool in your skull, he carried you all the way to this sanctuary, paid your medical fees, and has been looking after you. Yet you attack without a second thought…”
Sonia assumed a karate stance.
“For attempting to harm my young master, you deserve to be beaten.”
Thwack!
Idel flicked Sonia on the forehead. The android did not budge, but her expression showed clear bewilderment.
“…What are you doing?”
“You’re the one doing something weird to a patient.”
Idel snatched the katyusha from Sonia’s head.
“Confiscated until we leave.”
“Ahh!”
Sonia let out a pitiful whine.
“Give it back!”
“What’s so great about wearing that thing all the time?”
“It’s cute. Return my headband. Immediately!”
“It’s embarrassing, so please take it off when you’re talking to other people…”
“I’m counting to three. One. Two.”
“Threaten me all you want, I’m not giving it back. Kyaaak!”
In the end Sonia thoroughly pummeled Idel and reclaimed her headband. The battle between man and machine ended in the machine’s victory.
What is this?
Ire felt a strange unease. Sonia and Idel should have shared a terrible relationship, yet they acted as close as siblings, warm as cotton candy. Realizing something fundamental had changed, Ire’s brow furrowed on its own.