Chapter 28 - EP.1 The Butterfly Dream

“Hahaha! Did you see their faces back there?”

On the way from the cavern to the Nexus Port, an unexpected comedy routine filled the air around the five Pathfinders walking through the dim ruins.

“They looked like they'd swallowed shit!”

[For real lol. Turn off the stream! LMAO. Like you'd turn it off in our shoes lol.]

Jack O' Lantern and Dullahan did most of the talking. Since Dullahan communicated through displayed text rather than speech, however, Jack O' Lantern was ultimately the loudest. Not that he was talking to himself. Akina chimed in every so often.

“Hmph! You didn't believe him at first!”

The short girl shot them a glare.

“What was it you said? ‘He's getting pushed back, isn't he?’ Who was getting pushed back? I told you Mister was super strong! You didn't believe a word of it then, and now look at you!”

As Akina tattled, Jack O' Lantern hastily tried to cover her mouth. But seeing Ash towering right beside her, he couldn't even reach out.

“Ah, ahaha... Well, you see...”

[sry]

Akina smiled triumphantly at the two men shrinking back. Anyone watching might have thought she was the one who had won the spar.

“Ugh, you're so loud! What happened to staying alert? Did you all forget? This expedition isn't over. Focus!”

Ifrit's sudden thunderous rebuke silenced the three of them.

But only briefly.

Before long, they huddled together again as if nothing had happened, whispering about the spar.

Needless to say, the spar had ended in Ash's victory. Siren had eventually run out of strength, failed to fully block one of his blows, and been knocked flying and rendered unconscious.

Despite her crushing defeat, she had passed out smiling. Judging by that expression, the spar seemed to have left quite an impression on her.

And so the brief spar ended, and Team Elementary Girls resumed its expedition. That had been barely thirty minutes ago.

“Let them be, my lady. I need only pay a little more attention to our surroundings.”

Ash spoke just as Ifrit was about to scold them again. She sighed in response. Since Ash detected things even before Dullahan, who specialized in reconnaissance, there wasn't much she could say.

After walking like that for a while, Ifrit suddenly addressed him.

“Hey, Ash.”

“Speak.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Ash turned his head. As his teal optical sensors settled on her, Ifrit flinched involuntarily. She, too, had yet to shake off the lingering impact of the spar.

A monster who had utterly crushed Halloween's number one. Somehow, being under that monster's gaze exerted an almost unbearable pressure.

“Go ahead.”

Ifrit took a moment to steady her breathing. Forcing aside that strange pressure, she asked her question.

“Why did you make that wager and spar with her, anyway?”

It was a simple question. Yet, surprisingly, Ash bowed his head.

“I owe you an apology.”

“What? What's gotten into you?”

“Was it not I who delayed us?”

She stared at him blankly before shaking her head.

“No. I'm not asking for an apology. I'm genuinely curious. As far as I know—not that I know you that well, but anyway—you're not that kind of person, are you? Isn't squeezing money out of people Akina's job?”

Ash chuckled softly.

“Quite right. You have a keen eye, my lady.”

“Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, what's the real reason?”

“... The reason.”

After a brief pause, Ash continued.

“Well. Looking back on it now, I believe I was a little angry.”

Ifrit made a bizarre face at that. So bizarre, in fact, that even the LED hearts in her eyes looked squashed.

“Don't tell me... it was because of me?”

“... Why have you suddenly entered the picture?”

“Well, isn't that what you mean? You were angry because that bitch Siren was giving me a hard time?”

Ash stared at her.

“My lady.”

“What? What is it?”

“You think too highly of yourself.”

Ifrit flushed.

“You could've just said no. You always find such classy ways to take a jab at me. So? Are you over being angry now?”

“Completely.”

“Well, three million credits did just fall into your lap. That ought to cheer you up.”

That was the end of the conversation.

Or so Ifrit thought.

Ash, however, wasn't finished. His next words stopped her in her tracks.

“About that arm.”

“... Yeah?”

“If you were to get it back, what would you do with it? Would you install it yourself?”

His tone was matter-of-fact, as though he were asking whether she'd eaten. Yet Ifrit couldn't readily answer.

“... I don't know. I've never thought about it. There's no guarantee that bitch would give it back. I swear at her and demand it back every time, but honestly, I wouldn't return it either if I were her. Not with how much it's worth.”

“I see.”

Ash asked no further questions. He merely added quietly,

“You would do well to start thinking about it now.”

That was the end of the conversation. Ash turned away as though he had nothing more to say.

“... What was that about?”

She mulled over his cryptic words for a moment, then shook her head a couple of times.

“Focus!”

Clapping her hands for good measure, she took out her data pad. Above it floated a holographic map and the coordinates where the unknown idols had reportedly died.

“We're almost there. It's right under our noses now, so let's stay focused.”

At her command, the three chatterboxes dispersed at once. Dullahan took the lead, Akina the center, and Jack O' Lantern the rear. It was the search formation they had discussed at the outset.

Thus the five Pathfinders once again advanced deeper into the ruins.

* * *

Their journey was far from smooth. The many threats lurking deep within the ruins tormented the Pathfinders in their own ways.

A great deal happened in a short time.

As they passed through one narrow corridor, ceiling panels opened and dozens of turrets emerged simultaneously. They were just awkwardly out of sword's reach, so Ash used his ranged weapon, the Bloody Heart Mk.7, for the first time.

His marksmanship was astonishingly poor.

He was so bad that it was hard to imagine how anyone could shoot that badly. Even in the midst of danger, Ifrit roared with laughter.

They said all the myriad paths of existence ultimately converged as one, but apparently marksmanship was excluded from that principle.

Beyond the trap-filled passage, more Pathfinders appeared: an idol group coming from another direction.

“Hello, you fucking assholes! We are Shi!”

“Ni!”

“Ng!”

“St—!”

“Hey, hold on. Isn't that humanoid Ash?”

“Ash? The one who fought Siren?”

Despite their flashy entrance, the glitteringly dressed boy group Shining Star promptly bowed their heads. Apparently, they had watched clips of Ash's spar with Siren.

They backed away awkwardly, exchanging uncertain looks. Then ‘Shi,’ who had shouted the first syllable, hesitantly stepped forward.

“Um, I'm a really big fan... Could I please get your autograph?”

“A fan? Did you not just call us fucking assholes?”

“I didn't recognize you! I'm sorry!”

Bowing deeply, he quickly produced a data pad and offered it to Ash.

Ash glanced between the data pad and the man, shrugged, and swiftly set his hand to work. Across the holographic pad, his fingertip traced handwriting so fluid and powerful that it was hard to believe it belonged to a machine.

[哀是 不來異刀(Ae Si Bul Lae I Do)]

“There.”

“Thank you so... Huh?”

The man was utterly baffled by the result. The strange characters were unreadable to him.

“Um, what is this...?”

“My name.”

Having answered casually, Ash turned away. The members of Shining Star stood dumbfounded for a while, holding the pad bearing that peculiar signature.

Even after that, their journey was filled with disturbances great and small.

They encountered traps.

Destroyed Sentinels.

And occasionally dealt with idols, too.

How much time had passed?

At last, they reached the place they had seen in the PDA footage.

“... Are we here?”

It resembled an altar in an enormous temple. Layers of dust covered the floor, and massive stone pillars reached to the ceiling. A strange sanctity lingered throughout the space, undiminished even by the weight of ages.

And at the center of that altar floated the golden, diamond-shaped crystal they had searched so long for.

“The Nexus Port...!”

Ifrit's eyes shone. Having confirmed its presence, she hurriedly surveyed their surroundings. Despite being packed with intricate structures, the space was far larger than the cavern where they had confronted Witchcraft.

But its size meant nothing to Ifrit. Only one thing mattered.

No one else was here.

“Nice!”

Her cheer prompted Jack O' Lantern and Dullahan to throw both arms high overhead.

“Haha, hahaha! I kept wondering if we'd really pull it off, but we actually did it!”

[Wow lol. We actually pulled it off lmao.]

“Jack! Start the stream! Let's show everyone the moment of discovery!”

The three sprang into action.

“Hello, Ifrities! Been waiting long? Aw, don't be like that! I've prepared a present big enough to make up for it!”

Ifrit blew a kiss to the streaming drone and kept up her patter, while Jack O' Lantern gathered metal plates and other debris scattered around the ruins and brought them to the center. He was building a makeshift barricade in preparation for the Sentinel counterattack that was all but guaranteed once Akina began her Deep Dive.

HISSS!

A flash of light and welding sparks erupted from Dullahan's fingertips. Wherever his hands passed, molten metal filled the gaps.

Amid all the commotion, Ash's gaze remained fixed on one person.

The Technomancer who would soon begin her Deep Dive.

Akina.

Ever since entering this space, she had stared intently at the Nexus Port, biting her nails as though anxious, or perhaps nervous.

Ash quietly approached and laid a hand on her shoulder. Akina flinched and turned.

“... Mister.”

“Are you very nervous?”

The girl shook her head.

“Heh, hehe! Of course not! Who do you think I am? I'm a genius Technomancer, remember? Th-this is... a piece of cake!”

Her stammering voice and trembling hands contradicted her words completely. Ash, however, did not point that out. Instead, he knelt on one knee to meet her at eye level.

“Quite right. You are a finer Technomancer than anyone I know, Miss Akina. I can confidently vouch for that.”

“... Aren't I the only Technomancer you know, Mister?”

Chuckling softly, Ash took the hand whose nails she had been biting.

“That includes everyone I shall ever meet.”

Had his words helped?

Little by little, the tremors in her hand subsided. Her wavering blue eyes grew steady as well.

“Mister, you know... Could you say what you said before one more time?”

“What words do you need?”

“What you said the first time I did a Deep Dive...”

Ash fell silent for a moment, recalling their first expedition. Soon he realized what she wanted to hear and repeated it without changing a single word.

“Go, then. I shall be here the entire time.”

“... You have to keep that promise, okay?”

“I most certainly shall.”

Only at his steadfast promise did a faint smile finally appear on the girl's face.

Meanwhile, the welding stopped. Jack and Dullahan had finished their work and nodded toward them. Ifrit, who had been talking to the viewers through the drone, looked over and nodded as well.

“Miss Akina. Are you ready?” Ash asked.

Rather than answer, Akina nodded just as everyone else had.

She hesitated no longer. Their entire journey thus far had been nothing more than the process of bringing her here, before the Nexus Port.

Taking a deep breath, Akina walked up onto the great altar, toward the golden glow of the Nexus Port.

Once there, she unhesitatingly tied up her hair and connected her head to the Nexus Port with a cable.

For a brief moment, Akina's eyes met Ash's. She gave him a resolute smile.

“See you later.”

“I shall see you later.”

That was all they said in farewell.

Akina closed her eyes and sent her consciousness flowing into cyberspace, a sea of information no ordinary human could even dare imagine.

The short girl's body floated into the air, and blue, heat-haze-like wisps soon swirled around her.

RUMMMBLE...!

The moment the Deep Dive began, the entire altar—no, the entire ruins—started to tremble faintly. Dormant red warning lights across the walls lit up in unison, bathing everything in red.

-Warning. Unauthorized life-form access to system detected. Unauthorized life-forms must disconnect immediately and cease functioning. Failure to comply will result in...

A flat mechanical voice rang out.

It was a declaration heralding the bloody battle to come.

“Get ready!”

The four Pathfinders surrounding Akina tightened their grips on their weapons.