Chapter 18: The Worst Mother

The way back to the spaceship was engulfed in complete silence.

After the excitement of seeing Camilla's power left Bloed, his expression turned complicated. Bloed remembered that he was the reason Camilla was swallowed by the monster.

If it would not have been Camilla but another person without the ability to escape from that situation, then today would have ended in tragedy.

Bloed hated that. He hated that his carelessness put his mother in danger. He always prided himself on having survived the Exiled Lands by himself, but this time, his carelessness almost caused a tragedy.

Camilla also seemed to be thinking about something, so she did not pay attention to Bloed's mood. Tito was the only one that seemed 'normal', but as a very professional AI, it stayed silent to not interrupt its masters' thoughts.

When the buggy arrived at the spaceship, Bloed finally opened his mouth.

"Mother, sorry…"

"Hmm?"

"If, if I would have been more alert, this would not have happened."

Camilla smiled. "Don't worry about it, son. It's normal for children to commit mistakes, and as a parent, my duty is to make sure that you have the opportunity to learn about your mistakes."

Bloed bit his lips and lowered his gaze. For some reason, hearing Camilla calling him a child only made him feel worse.

"… It will not happen again." He whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I promise you, it will not happen again." Bloed looked up with a determined expression. "I promise you I'll become strong enough to never put you in danger. I swear!"

Camila was stunned, but in the next second, she smiled.

Her smile, however, was hiding her deep pain.

"I'll be waiting for that." She said gently. "Now go to the infirmary. You need medic treatment."

…

A few minutes later, when Camilla and Bloed separated.

"Cough cough cough…!"

Violent coughing sounds resounded in Camilla's room. She leaned her body forward and vomited a few mouthfuls of blood and pieces of internal organs.

When her coughing fit finally ended, she wiped off the blood on her lips and looked at Tito with a tired face.

"… Tito, give me a diagnostic."

[… Master, using your abilities this time caused a huge burden to your body. The process of necrosis accelerated drastically and damaged some of your internal organs.]

Camilla fell silent. She looked at the ground and sighed deeply.

"… How much longer I have?"

[… Less than one year.] Tito replied after a pause.

Camilla bit her lips. "… So little."

The next second, she smiled bitterly.

"How ironic, one year ago my biggest wish was to die, but now, I want a little bit more of time…"

Tito remained silent. It hovered around its master and asked.

[I don't understand master. If you stayed in the spaceship, this would not have happened.]

"You are right, Tito, but I'm a mother. When you told me that you detected a life signal similar to a devourer, I could not stay quiet without doing anything knowing the danger it could represent to my son… Fortunately, it was a false alarm."

[Yeah, although that creature's life signal was similar to a devourer, there were some differences. Furthermore, I analyzed its tissue and confirmed it did not belong to a devourer.]

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"That is good…" Camilla sighed in relief. She then lay down on the bed and used her arms to cover her eyes.

Suddenly, she spoke.

"Tito, what do you think will happen to Bloed once I'm gone?"

[…]

"... I'm afraid, Tito. Bloed is a pitiful child. If even I, his only family, leaves him, he will crumble down."

[Young master is very strong, master.]

"Do you think so?" Camilla smiled self-deprecatorily. "… I'm a coward. I'm not even able to tell him the truth."

Tito did not reply.

"Tito, I have been thinking… Do you remember the project I had been working on when the devourers attacked us?"

[I do. The project Valkyrie.]

"Yes. I had been searching for a way to combine a human brain with an AI."

[Master's advancements in that field were impressive. If you would have been given twenty years more, you would have succeeded.]

Camilla chuckled bitterly.

"Actually, I succeeded."

[…]

"Just before we were attacked, I made a major breakthrough. I have seventy percent of confidence in creating a hybrid Valkyrie. A perfect war machine."

[I see.]

"... If I create a Valkyrie for my son. One that protects him and stays with him when I'm gone… Will he be happy?"

Tito stopped moving. [Master, you are not thinking of using your body to…]

"No. My body is too damaged to endure the operation. Even if I want, it's impossible."

[… But if it's not you, where are you going to find a suitable body?]

Camilla's expression turned complicated. She fell silent for a moment before heaving a sigh of resignation.

"… There is a suitable body in this spaceship."

[… I see.] Tito understood its master's meaning instantly.

"I'm sure I am the worst mother in the world." Camilla chuckled in a self-deprecatory manner. "First, I left my daughter die in front of my eyes, then, I recognized a son irresponsibly despite knowing the pain I would cause him. And now, I'm going to desecrate my daughter's body to pave a future for my son..."

A heavy silence filled the room. As an AI, Tito could not find a way to console its master.

It could not understand its master's feelings.

"Tito, prepare the body and the laboratory. This will be my last gift to my son."

The only thing it could do was to follow its master's orders.

[Understood, master.]

Such was its fate as an AI.

...

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