"AAAAAAARGHHHHH!!!!" Thalamik cried as he punched the floor of the colosseum ring. Looking to the sky, he shouted once more, "PLEASE ANYONE KILL ME RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO DIE." He begged, before putting his hands onto his head.
The screen was livestreaming what had happened inside the tournament. It has been approximately 6 days ever since this event started.
[Remaining Participants are 2 Teams]
[Artifact War - Climax will begin shortly]
[A final duel will begin]
[Thalamik The Kaiser of Darkness : 529 Fragments]
[Isval Il Opache : 470 Fragments]
[The Livestream will continue in]
[00:03:19:00]
Three hours was what remained of this Artifact War.
Zuatha Il Zikmel and her cronies have been successfully detained in the Saint HQ. Veuz is temporarily acting as the Principal of the Vanguard Academy. People slowly gathered inside the Vanguard Academy near the colosseum to mourn the loss of their loved ones who entered the tournament unknowingly.
Standing amongst the people watching, Carmilla could only stare in solemn silence. Her mind was constantly replaying the exchange she had with Blastar. Was it all really necessary? Was it all right to sacrifice a few to save everything else?
She shook her head, noticing the real fact.
Time and time again, she was powerless to solve anything alone.
She wondered how much hardship Thalamik had endured all this time.
To think that Thalamik, whom she knew, would once again break down so hard.
Carmilla clenched her fists.
"Ms. Carmilla, Lady Veuz is asking for you." She nodded, walking towards the Principal's Office of Vanguard Academy. She walked the halls of Vanguard Academy as fragments of her memories replayed.
The courtyard where they used to do any and all activities. Bantering about nonsensical stuff with little to no worry. Walking again, she remembered the cafeteria where they shared food and first became friends with Besitulars, Lulu, and Trish.
In that short moment, Carmilla intentionally passed through the dormitory even though she didn't have to. Looking at the hallway where they first came in, where she had almost snapped for the first time in front of Ray and Thal.
She also made her way to the infirmary, where Illias frequented. Also where she last saw her inside Illias' Dream. Opening the door to one of the rooms, Carmilla felt a weird sensation. A sense of nostalgia.
"Illias."
She caressed the bedsheets.
Lost in thought, she began to wonder what could have happened back then.
What if she had abandoned Vanguard Academy for the sake of Thalamik and Illias?
Isn't it worth it to forsake the world for her friends?
No, even she can't justify anything.
Her logical reasoning for the bigger picture. For the macroscale of things won't let her commit towards things that will heavily impact the world. It was as if her own principles are betraying her. She herself isn't above the rules and isn't above morals. No matter how strong she is, there isn't any excuse to act above it.
But that same principle led to things happening this way. Zuatha was never fully charged for her crimes until she finally committed a public crime once more. By then, Thalamik had already been taken hostage and forced to participate in a death game.
Were her efforts all this time not worth it?
Was it better for her to take part in never-ending politics for the sake of the world?
Only you know the answer to that, Carmilla.
Do you choose the world over your friends?
Only you can answer that. But in the meantime, continue to fight in any way you believe in.
Carmilla heard voices in her head, instantly recognizing a presence. She was familiar with the voice, as 'she' was something that she and Veuz had been working on all this time. "EiEi, why are you here?" Carmilla asked with a smile.
Suddenly a pink, magical-energy-like orb appeared in front of her. "Ever since the last update, I am able to be omnipresent to a certain degree, at least."
"I see. Sorry for the wait, I'll make haste to meet with Veuz."
***
She once again walked towards the Principal's office.
The door of the Vanguard Academy Principal's office opened.
Inside the room, Grand Saint Veuz was sitting at the coffee table along with Dwargo Kors, Lulu Velulu, Trish Il Lupache and Besitulars.
"Sorry I am late, everyone," Carmilla said to everyone in the room.
At that moment, everyone looked straight at her with flat faces.
Carmilla looked down as she felt something was wrong.
Perhaps they were angry at her for being so powerless.
She shook before starting to breathe uncontrollably.
It isn't farfetched to say that she was experiencing a panic attack.
"CARMILLA! IT'S BEEN QUITE LONG!" Lulu jumped as she hugged Carmilla.
Besitulars howled cheering while Dwargo helped Trish walk before she, too, hugged Carmilla. "How have you been, Carmilla? I hope you are well." Trish said, caressing her hair.
It was then that she realized they weren't angry at her. Instead, they were all glad to see her.
Carmilla's eyes teared up before trying to speak, "I am sorry, Thalamik is..."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up. Thalamik will be fine. I know he will. He is that strong after all." Trish said with confidence.
"First, let's see her. AA, will you please introduce yourself?" Veuz asked.
"AA?" Lulu asked, looking everywhere, but there was nothing there. "Who do you mean?"
Suddenly, specks of magical energy gathered, forming a humanoid body. As it materialized, someone appeared before them. A woman with pink hair, smiling radiantly. "Greetings, I am AA, or you can call me EiEi. I am an Artificial Intelligence."
"Artifact what?" Besitulars asked, his jaw dropping in confusion.
Veuz coughed before proceeding to explain, "She is Carmilla's and my project. She is a living being born from an Artifact. I wouldn't dichotomize her as just a human or an Artificial Intelligence. But, I guess she prefers to call herself an artificial intelligence, like the ones you find in other technologies."
"Indeed, I was born with the help of Carmilla and Veuz. In short, they reprogrammed an artifact into being able to generate a physical body. As such, with that blueprint in mind, I was able to manifest like this." AA explained, giving out gestures so much like a normal human.
"The question would be, how were you able to create an artifact in the first place?" Dwargo Kors said. "Did you two find or were you able to create an artifact?"
Carmilla closed her eyes, "It was due to my 'Dreams'." Opening them, she stepped to the center of the table. "I possess the power of dreams at my disposal. Utilizing it, I can bypass feats that no normal human, beastfolk, spiritfolk, faefolk, or even a high human can do."
"For nothing?" Dwargo said.
Veuz stepped in and said, "Magical Energy, by my own theorem, is influenced by three aspects. The first one is Hope that one possesses. The second one is Determination that one has. The last one is Dream that one possesses."
"Grand Saint!" Carmilla spoke, trying to stop Veuz from revealing the secrets she held.
Grand Saint Veuz stayed silent, trying to respect Carmilla. Yet she spoke only a sentence, "Are you sure you want to keep quiet and hold the burden on your own?"
Carmilla looked at Dwargo, Trish, Lulu, and Besitulars. Everyone was making worried faces. She shook her head, prompting Veuz to continue.
"By observing Carmilla, I managed to crack how she is able to wield it. It is to have a resolution to destroy your own life just to see your dream happening."
"BY THAT YOU MEAN..." Trish asked.
"Carmilla is actively sacrificing her own lifespan to achieve those impossible feats. Her surviving this long is due to her prowess to control how much of her lifespan is needed to achieve a certain feat." Veuz spoke before looking to the side. "The case where one can't control it as well as Carmilla will be that of Illias. Her premature control helped her achieve the finishing blow to Raum. But it cost all of her lifespan. Because at the time she really was willing to die just to see Raum die. Anything for one dream and one dream for everything she has."
"So that was it..." Trish shook her head.
Lulu was silently looking down.
Besitulars was gritting his teeth.
Dwargo was looking quite indifferent.
"I am sorry. It was all my fault she died. If only I hadn't taught her how to wield it. Perhaps..."
"Carmilla, as I have said before, it wasn't your fault." Veuz said firmly. "Although it is true that Vanguard Academy, particularly Zuatha, had made it very hard for us to interfere. But she is now in prison; we must focus on resolving this matter."
Carmilla swept her tears away and gritted her teeth, "Yes, you are correct." She closed her eyes once more. Breathing in and out, taking back her calm. She looked to the others, making sure they were okay to continue.
"AA is made using my dreams to create an artifact that can become a savior of United Front. The catalyst was from a Pseudo Artifact of a sword we found to be potent. I believe it was part of Oberon's personal armory. Given to Veuz directly from him." Carmilla said. "She is designed with the ability to 'Hack'. A counter to any artifact, which she can use to malfunction any artifacts in nearby proximity."
"Proximity, huh? That must be her limitation." Dwargo asked.
"Indeed, for now, proximity is my primary challenge. Yet, it won't be like that for long." AA smiled confidently.
"I see." Dwargo nodded. "Then, you must be designed to 'level up' as you go."
"EiEi is able to develop and grow herself per the magical energy that she accumulates. 'Grow' is her second ability that is different from Artifacts created by High Humans. I decided to add this function with Raymed's report in mind."
"She really is a counter artifact. Our trump card against artifact-based weapons." Dwargo looked at AA with a proud smile. "Then, why hasn't she taken action yet? Hacking Blastar?"
"Due to my calculations, even if I were to interfere, Blastar had already locked the mechanisms inside his own Alterity. By the time I take control of Blastar, the hostage will already have been killed. The difference in time between our world and that pocket dimension puts Blastar at an unreachable advantage. What happens in this outside world will be slower than what happens inside his domain. The moment he detects malfunction, he will execute the hostages for us in split seconds." AA said, projecting some kind of presentation.
"Then, what can we do?" Besitulars spoke, sighing in annoyance. "It doesn't seem Zuatha had made it easy for us to escape this trap of hers."
"In the meantime, we need to focus on breaching the barriers around Zuatha's devices. AA, will you please explain?" Carmilla explained.
AA looked to everyone in the room as she started projecting 3D figures of Zuatha Il Zikmel's devices. "Let's start then."
"Zuatha's devices are scattered throughout the United Front region. They act as a jammer for any incoming signal of magical energy, which we use to transmit information to the outside world. After breaching one of the devices located on an island in the Mediterranean Sea, I have predictions as to why Zuatha made it so." AA moved through the information quickly, giving out analyses, until one final sentence came out.
"In short, Thalamik will come out of this Artifact War, possessing power rivaling a top-rank Demon Lord Envoy. Hence, Zuatha's primary tactic is to sacrifice other regions to suffer the attack instead of the United Front getting attacked."
"Wait a minute, the Artifact War isn't over yet, right? How would you know this result?" Trish asked, confused at AA's statement.
"It's because the Artifact War isn't designed to cull the rightful wielder of Blastar. It's a hell hole designed to bring out Thalamik's despair so he can use Blastar to his fullest. Creating a Hero that uses despair as power against the Demon Lord Envoy." AA explained with a firm tone.
Grand Saint Veuz shook her head, "Then is our best bet to wait until the Artifact War is finished before deactivating the devices?"
"My proposed plan is to actually take control of all these devices. That way, I could manipulate the barriers in order to let certain signals in. Functioning the devices as a firewall rather than just a jammer." AA said, showing her analysis.
"Then let's do it." Besitulars rose from his seat. "Let's help in any way we can."
Except Veuz and AA, everyone silently nodded before getting up.
Carmilla, Trish, Lulu, Dwargo, and Besitulars walked through the door of the Principal's office with a mission.
***
Grand Saint Veuz let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you perhaps nervous, Grand Saint?"
"Of course, I am really incompetent in comparison to them all. Yet, I will definitely give my best."
"As you always do, Grand Saint. No worries, the proof of your efforts is me. Since I am here, I will turn the tables over and over again until we all win." AA said with confidence.
Hearing that, Veuz couldn't help but smile. "I always wonder how and where you got that kind of personality. An unwavering confidence and determination to face whatever storm you are facing."
AA smiled at the response.
It was all thanks to him.
She put out a live feed of Artifact War which will start soon.
Watching him do his very best motivates me.
I never even knew who that person was.
Somehow, I have the drive to watch over him and eventually...
Save him.