Chapter 81: Interlude – Bell’s Report

"Let's go Bell, they're here."

Ixion and Bell were in Rudel's room which was in the Duchy Bismarck.

Just as they flew off to the outside, the girls arrived.

The reason was because Rudel had become engaged to them today.

Both artificial intelligences watched them from a window.

At the same time, Ixion was questioning Bell.

"Give me your report on the last thing you remember."

Ixion wanted to know about Bell's past, he hadn't had any free time until today.

"Well... I don't remember anything in fact. I just have a choppy conversation from the scientists the day I shut down."

"That works for me."

"Ok..."

◇◇◇

"What do you mean the results are negative?"

I was cleaning as usual when suddenly, the supervisor and his assistant were arguing.

Since I am a cleaning automaton, they don't care about what I hear.

I was still cleaning with the broom and their conversation was getting weird.

"The subjects have been exposed to testing with the sample sent... all the subjects were butchered from the inside."

"You're not kidding?"

"I wish I was, but boss believe me. That thing in there has no DNA that can be analyzed, not only that, we can't burn it or destroy it. We used a super sonic wave communicator and it looks like it's alive."

"Looks like?"

"Yes. You see, at a low frequency that only an insect would make, it seems to murmur a name."

"A name?"

"Yes, but I don't know what it says, it seems to speak in the plural. Like it's more than one."

"...Are you saying it's not a bacterium or a virus?"

"I wish it was that."

He watched the supervisor sweating.

He used his hand to wipe away the sweat.

"W-we have to tell the higher-ups that we shouldn't use this. We don't seem to be able to control it."

"And if we use Project E-"

"Don't you dare mention it!"

The supervisor pounded the table very hard.

His sweat was getting heavier.

"That... it's not something to play with, it's still imperfect."

"But boss! I heard from the northeast lab that 'Adam' is successful."

"Just because it's successful doesn't mean it's functional!"

"The higher-ups are producing more 'Black Swords' for the coming war!"

"They're even using those new robots already."

"Seriously... it's amazing that they were approved, since after all they were created-"

"That doesn't matter, we must find a way how to destroy that damn thing in case it all goes wrong."

"True, but I don't think it will be a problem for Eden."

"With that in our hands, we'll never lose."

The supervisor and the assistant smiled. They both left taking with them a briefcase containing a strange black liquid.

I was left alone there taking care of everything, until suddenly, there was a tremor.

I shook a lot and, a message appeared on the computer.

"To all squadrons, it's an emergency! An unidentified enemy destroyed the imperial capital! It has been ordered that the top priority is to guard Eden!"

"Furthermore!"

*static*

"Lilith has betrayed us and stolen the Adam project! You were notified to destroy them both!"

After that message, I heard something weird. It was as if someone was singing a beautiful melody and then....

◇◇◇

"That's it."

Ixion listened to what Bell said while watching Rudel cry.

"...I wasn't the only one who got that message then."

Bell was looking very curious at Ixion.

"Senpai, was what we fought against just now the cause of-?"

"No."

His words were cut off by Ixion.

"That thing has a lot of similarities to what the scientists I remember researched. But what destroyed ancient mankind was not that thing."

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"Do you know what it was?"

"No. But I'll never forget what happened before I shut down. On that day, I- we were defeated."

Bell listened intently to Ixion.

"We had to return to a nearby military base that was hidden on an island. Just after we landed... the earth shook and..."

Ixion looked at Bell instead of Rudel.

"Huge pillars of light shot out from the bottom lifting the earth into the sky. As act followed, I heard a strange voice, that voice did nothing to me, but the crewmen along with the captain began to bleed for some reason and then..."

Ixion's red eye glowed brightly.

"I was there, climbing the sky a strange shape never seen before and, I shut down until the master found me."

They both now saw Rudel grabbing the girls.

"The information is scanty, but useful."

"Oh, I remembered something else!"

"What is it?"

"It's not about ancient humanity but about the ship that sank."

"Did you figure out what caused that strange phenomenon?"

"No. But Airi and it seemed to synchronize."

"...That ship has pieces of ancient humanity along with very ancient parts."

"There are three things I found out before it was destroyed."

"Tell them."

"The first is this: it was built by human hands."

"Oh? That's interesting."

"There's more. Its builder left it at that location as he required parts to repair it. Where do you think those parts are?"

Ixion who indicated to Bell with his eye that he doesn't like jokes.

"In the most mysterious place. Aster."

Ixion turned to look at Bell.

"To Aster? That's where me and the master will go."

"Yes. The second one is even weirder. What do you think Liebe means?"

"Something dumb?"

"Right! You'll be surprised at this, it means..."

Bell moved closer to Ixion and made a strange symbol in her fluorescent eye.

"Love. And, it worked with that."

"...Are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all. The mechanism try to analyze it when Airi manifested those shields. For some reason, only her positive feelings activated it."

"And, the last important and weirdest thing."

"Will it be weirder?"

Bell seemed to smile, though he had no teeth.

"The airship was a gift. That gift was from a man to a woman. The name of the man and builder was engraved on the side of the ship."

"And the name?"

Bell was serious when she told him.

"His name was Rugel. And, it seems he was in a hurry to look for more than parts on Aster. Since he left a message..."

"(Wait for me please, I promise I'll save you like you saved the world.)"

"So it said."

Ixion looked at Rudel who was hugging lying on the bed to the girls.

"Rugel..."

"Yes. Funny isn't it?"

"The subject's name is Rugel, the master's name is Rudel. The master must go to Aster to look for a weapon and curiously that Rugel guy went to look for something important there."

"Senpai..."

Ixion turned to look at Bell.

"If what the master said about when he died he found a light, and upon entering that light he awoke in a body that wasn't his... do you think it was really chance?"

"The same chance that Erselica was reincarnated? And that those things attacked us."

"I don't know Bell, what I do know is that the master is my reason for not destroying humanity. For some reason, he alone emits two strange auras according to my heat tracker."

"Oh, amazing. I thought you would say because the master loves those girls. I love them too, I don't want to destroy them despite being loser offspring."

"Oh, too bad. The master missed his chance to be one with them. I wanted to film their first time and have them see it in their intimacy."

Bell headed inside to tease the three a bit.

Ixion, on the other hand...

"Aster... Rugel... love... this world is very strange, but stranger still is that you have been the lynchpin of many important things."

Ixion was also heading inside, but not before saying a few last words.

"...Was it really... a coincidence that he was reincarnated?"