6 6 301 Lee waves his hand and turns off the holo-screen display.
7 7 301 Lee This is the data left by the Construct that defected from Babylonia. I'll give it to Bianca when I return. 1
8 8 301 Lucia How could someone defect... 2
9 9 301 A complicated expression covers Lucia's face.
10 10 301 Lee I found some memory data of the Construct being chased by the Purifying Force. 1
11 11 301 Lee Lucia, do you remember... 1
12 12 301 Lucia What? 2
13 13 301 Lee It's nothing... 1
14 14 301 Even Lee doesn't know why he wants to confirm whether a person that has already disappeared still exists in other people's memory.
15 15 301 But even if he can confirm that this person "was remembered," it doesn't matter anymore.
16 16 301 If humanity is wiped out, their remains will be buried deep underground, or turned into dust and stored in vessels. The earth and stone tablets will remember that they once existed.
17 17 301 But as for the death of Constructs, our bodies can be easily abandoned, and our memory is just data. However, "recalling" Construct consciousness is fundamentally...
18 18 301 Lee (No... Now's not the time to think about this.) 1
19 19 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Lee (What we need to do now is... continue onward.) 1
30 28 301 AniZhuanchangEnd She's there today, too.
31 29 301 As usual, during her rehabilitation training in the training room, her skill with a blade is as awe-inspiring and exacting as when I first met her on the battlefield.
32 30 301 The leader said that training logs shouldn't contain extraneous details. But this is my log, so he can go cry about it.
33 31 301 Now, where was I? Oh, her eyes were as cold as ever, but there was a trace of loneliness.
34 32 301 I don't know why, but I think I understand her loneliness. I heard that Lucia was seriously wounded during her last mission, and her entire team and commandant died except for her.
35 33 301 Ever since then, she appeared to be unaffected, but I sensed a change in her.
36 34 301 Now, she is the only remaining member of her Gray Raven team.
37 35 301 I would've loved for the opportunity to fight at her side. With this in mind, I remained in the training room once training was over.
38 36 301 What was I doing at that time? Oh, right. I was waiting in the doorway to say hello to Lucia. Wait, no. I first gave her a salute, then said hello.
39 37 301 Then I complimented Lucia's achievements, expressed my appreciation for her—for the Gray Ravens—then put forward my wish to join the Gray Ravens.
40 38 301 ...Or should I say, I wanted to, but I ended up just staring at Lucia as she left the training room. She didn't even look my way as she walked passed me.
41 39 301 After being too shy to ask, I missed my opportunity and had no other choice but to submit my application to the Gray Ravens. I was rejected, of course. That's why I was assigned to my current team.
42 40 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Why would the renowned Gray Raven team need a mediocre member like me...
47 45 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Operations and simulation training are no different after joining my team. Most of my missions are just cleaning up Corrupted around the conservation area, setting up equipment, investigating Corrupted, and then submitting reports to the special exploration squads.
48 46 301 The commandant seems to deliberately forbid me from undertaking more difficult missions. Maybe since I'm not as strong as our leader and Teresa, I'll just end up getting in the way during more important assignments.
49 47 301 AniZhuanchangBegin So I have to train harder. Even if I can't fight alongside Lucia, I can't hold back my team members.
54 52 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Today's my lucky day! I saw Lucia again in the training room.
55 53 301 I finally got to see Lucia unleash "Dawn". Seems like she's getting ready for a mission on the ground.
56 54 301 Her crimson pigtails and the red light trails emitted by the high-powered frame were so dazzling that I couldn't look away.
57 55 301 But something was up with Lucia. I heard someone from the tech department say that she wanted to modify the frame's hairstyle.
58 56 301 I don't think that's a good idea, though. I think she's lovely just the way she is!
59 57 301 I wish someone would tell her that. I'm too much of a chicken to do it myself.
60 58 301 Lucia's been acting differently, though. She used to have this cold, empty look in her eyes as if fighting was the only thing she was meant to do.
61 59 301 But recently, there seems to be something else besides emptiness in her eyes. She still occasionally drifts off, but someone always comes looking for her to drag her off to somewhere noisy.
62 60 301 Sometimes there's a quiet and delicate-looking girl who I'm guessing is a member of the Gray Ravens. Sometimes there's a hot-headed girl always clamoring to one-up Lucia.
63 61 301 Most of the time, it's the Gray Ravens' new commandant always talking to Lucia with a gentle smile. She used to be really tense, but she seems to have loosened up more than ever.
64 62 301 There's also the Strike Hawk member who always looks like he's giggling from behind. He runs off to the Gray Ravens' base even more than me, but then he just ends up getting dragged back by the captain of the Strike Hawks.
65 63 301 But he always bursts in through the door while I try to pass by unnoticed.
66 64 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Before I knew it, Lucia had quite the entourage.
73 69 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Before that, I never considered the possibility that I will die.
74 70 301 Death is inevitable for humans, but I'm a Construct.
75 71 301 As those who modified us into Constructs said, we can recall our consciousnesses if we are seriously injured in battle.
76 72 301 Once recalled, we will wake up in a new frame and continue to fight another day.
77 73 301 Recalling does have one side effect, though. Our combat data will take precedence over other memory data during recall. If there is any error with the recall process, we may end up losing memories.
78 74 301 But based on what our battle-hardened predecessors have said, there isn't enough time to recall on the battlefield. Each moment of hesitation during war determines its outcome and your companions' survival. That's one of the cruelties of war.
79 75 301 If I recall on the battlefield, will I still be "me" when I wake up in a maintenance pod in Babylonia?
80 76 301 The captain was furious. He said that I needed to get my head out of the clouds. My commandant won't always be able to stop and adjust my M.I.N.D.
81 77 301 I can only bow my head and apologize to the captain. The commandant spoke up for me, but that only makes me feel even more guilty.
82 78 301 If it weren't for the commandant and captain of this mission, I might have died from the attacking Corrupted. I wasn't expecting to encounter falling Hetero-Core shards during such a routine mission. The shards ended up luring a horde of Corrupted.
83 79 301 I couldn't keep my mind from wandering. Even I didn't know from where the fear in the bottom of my heart came .
84 80 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Maybe I'm not suitable to be a soldier at all. No wonder the Gray Ravens wouldn't let me join.
89 85 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Teresa We're all out of time!! If we let the Corrupted break through, they'll surround the conservation area!
90 86 301 We need to get out of here! We're too close to the conversion probe. If the commandant isn't here, our corruption rate will...
91 87 301 Teresa Proceed to an area with low Punishing concentration and call for backup! I'll detonate the bomb... Damn it! The control device is... It can only be detonated manually!
92 88 301 In that case, you can't make it out in one piece!
93 89 301 Teresa It's the only way we can stop them! I'll recall before the explosion. The rest is up to you!
115 111 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Red current flows rapidly through the wounded Construct propped up with her blade, causing her to collapse onto the ground.
116 112 201 1 500008
117 113 301 1 ??? We meet again, little miss pretty. I'm happy to see you're still alive. 1
118 114 301 ...Who are you?
119 115 301 ??? Don't you remember? I told you my name the last time we met. 1
120 116 301 Last... time?
121 117 301 ??? Huh...? I'm guessing you must have rebooted since then. 1
122 118 301 ??? What a pity. We had quite the conversation last time. Looks like only I get to cherish that memory. 1
123 119 301 ...
124 120 301 ??? Please, don't look at me like a cornered animal. We are of the same ilk. 1
125 121 301 ??? Let me introduce myself one more time. My name is Roland. 1
126 122 301 Roland As for you... Congratulations, you are qualified to join our ranks. 1
127 123 301 Qualified?
128 124 301 Roland Indeed. You are qualified to join Ascnet and share in its power. The Punishing Virus will no longer pose any threat. We will teach you to become one with it—to control it. 1
129 125 301 Why me?
130 126 301 Roland You've forgotten everything, haven't you...? No matter. Rebooting doesn't make you any less qualified. 1
131 127 301 Roland After all... You just passed the Ascnet's preliminary screening. 1
132 128 301 Roland Thank you. Our efforts weren't in vain. 1
133 129 301 The silver-haired Ascendant smiles gracefully, then extends his hand.
134 130 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Roland Well, then. Let me take you to see Miss Luna. 1
163 157 301 DialogEnable As my consciousness and eyesight recover, the burning feeling of the Punishing Virus embraces my body, quickly tearing away the delicate balance.
164 158 301 But I still choose to see everything in front of me. The black-haired girl slashes her katana, killing the endless stream of Corrupted. A commandant dressed as a human stands behind her.
165 159 301 She's not the mysterious Ascendant, but rather Lucia, the one I had always longed to meet.
166 160 301 ...But now, I looked like a Corrupted in her eyes.
167 161 301 But still, I struggle to climb out of the debris with nothing but my hands. My lower body had been mangled by Corrupted while unconscious.
168 162 301 My movements awaken the surrounding Corrupted from their dormant slumber, triggering their combat mode upon detecting an intruder.
169 163 301 After eliminating the Corrupted around the commandant, Lucia finally notices me.
170 164 301 She walks in front of me before finally seeing me clearly.
171 165 301 She looks different from what I remember. Her frame is something I had never seen before.
172 166 301 But her fighting style is still as awe-inspiring and exacting as before. Her eyes are just as cold and empty. She was the real Lucia.
173 167 301 And sure enough, the hairstyle really suits her. Who knows if anyone told her.
174 168 301 All the Corrupted that frantically attack Lucia fall silently under her blade, then she raises her katana at me.
175 169 301 "...Humans... will destroy... humanity..."
177 171 301 As the corruption from the virus intensifies, the mysterious whispers once again invade my consciousness. But I can't let them succeed, at least for the moment.
178 172 301 Even if it means death, I will maintain my conviction and usher in the end. I don't want to die with hatred that isn't my own.
179 173 301 So I stretch out my hand to Lucia with all my strength and wait for the blade to fall.
