42 42 301 AniZhuanchangEnd No longer able to suppress her rage, Lucia draws her katana and sprints toward her doppelganger at breakneck speed.
43 43 301 The two blades collide with a sharp ping. Their frames and fighting styles are so similar that the two fighters are almost tangled together, indistinguishable.
44 44 301 Huaxu According to the computing power available currently, the suppression can last 613 seconds.
45 45 301 α That's more than enough, but don't forget the human.
46 46 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Alpha issues her commands as she counters Lucia's attacks.
48 48 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Huaxu Employing the Spear of F.O.S. to infiltrate the commandant's link.
49 49 301 Huaxu Takeover succeeded.
50 50 201 1 500166 5
51 51 301 1 Lucia Commandant! 1
52 52 202 1 1
53 53 302 Ugh—aaargh! 54
54 54 301 As if your hands are no longer under your control, they reach for your throat and strangle you. You begin to suffocate as oxygen leaves your brain, dimming your vision.
55 55 301 Chaos takes over your mind. Disorderly orders and illogical logics begin to fill your entire consciousness all at once.
56 56 301 Huaxu Through the Spear of F.O.S, I have placed the commandant's Mind Beacon into the M.I.N.D. of the Corrupted nearby... Soon there will be nothing left but madness.
57 57 201 1 500100 13
58 58 301 1 α No one's going to help you now, Lucia. 1
59 59 201 1 500166 5
60 60 301 1 Lucia Let go of Commandant! Let go of my friends! 1
64 64 301 Lucia's fury charges her sword with a layer of frost. Leaping with her jetpack, she strikes with her katana like a raging blizzard. Alpha, who never backs down from a fight, is somehow forced into a series of dodges.
76 76 301 But her blade only hits the lingering shadow of Lucia, shattering an abandoned glass case to the side.
77 77 201 1 500166 5
78 78 301 1 Lucia You're right. We're born of the same essence, and we were the same person. Had I never met Gray Raven, I might just turn out the way you are. 1
79 79 301 Lucia ...But I've chosen a completely different path! 1
80 80 301 To Alpha, Lucia's assertiveness looks no different to an ignorant person's mockery of the "mistakes" she has made—worse, even, as it comes from her counterpart.
81 81 202 1 1
82 82 301 Infuriated, she clutches the grip of her blade and steps forth with the speed of lightning. Her sword slices in the shape of crescent moons, shredding everything between her and Lucia, relentlessly advancing.
102 103 301 Lucia takes the opportunity when Alpha ducks from Lee's bullets to leap away and hurries her way to you.
103 104 201 1 500166 5
104 105 301 1 Lucia Sorry, Commandant! 1
105 106 301 Lucia grabs your hands and forcefully tears them away from your throat, holding them by the floor.
106 107 301 All of a sudden, oxygen and pain from your wrists enter your chest at the same time, blending with your confused mind, as if setting your body aflame.
107 108 302 AAAAGGHHH! 109
108 109 301 Lucia Keep breathing! 1
109 110 202 1 1
110 111 301 Befuddled and taken over, your hands are bounded to the constraints next to your legs on your protective suit by Lucia, while Alpha sneers and watches.
111 112 302 Th-thank... you... 113
112 113 201 1 500100 13
113 114 301 1 α How ridiculous. What you're doing is pointless—your so-called kindness is only prolonging your commandant's pain... 1
114 115 202 1 1
115 116 301 Lucia ignores Alpha's teases. She picks up the injector from Liv and hurriedly jabs it at the injection point of your suit before noticing the label on it.
123 124 301 AniZhuanchangBegin The shivering frost blade and the fiery crimson sword clash and spark. The two swordswomen tangle again, in rivalry, in resolve, in rage.
126 127 301 AniZhuanchangEnd You have no idea how long has passed. Perhaps the line between pain and perception has blurred in your mind, extending your grasp on the passage of time.
127 128 301 You feel like you have been locked inside a bottomless pit, thrown into a frantic tide of Corrupted.
128 129 301 As if a wall has muffled the sound of battle, and a web has covered your delirious confusion, everything is less distinct and painful.
129 130 301 AniZhuanchangBegin On the cusp of unconsciousness, you hear a familiar voice.
131 132 301 AniZhuanchangEnd ??? A proposal for Gray Raven on the optimized path to victory.
132 133 302 ...Who is this? 134
133 134 301 In your dimming vision, you see a shape, a bad memory jolting like the reflecting lights on stained glass. An intense, instinctual reaction has jogged your recollection of who that is.
134 135 302 ...Huaxu! 136
135 136 301 Huaxu Commandant 【kuroname】 has discovered my disguise, demonstrating a stable mind after being corrupted for 4 minutes and 32 seconds, suggesting remarkable capabilities in Construct connection and defying corruption.
136 137 301 Huaxu Based on this result, I hypothesize that you are capable of connecting with an Ascendant. Therefore, I propose the following suggestion—
137 138 301 Huaxu Infiltrate Alpha's M.I.N.D. by leveraging your connection with Lucia, who originates from the same source.
138 139 302 ...Why would I do that? 140 What will it do to Lucia? 140
139 140 301 Huaxu With Alpha in the M.I.N.D., you can buy the other Gray Ravens some time. This will not affect Lucia in any way.
140 141 302 ...Disable your attack first! 142 You can invade Alpha yourself. 142
141 142 301 Huaxu I cannot disobey the order from a level one user. I can only do what has not been forbidden.
142 143 302 ...What do you need me to do? 144
143 144 301 Huaxu Stabilize Lucia's M.I.N.D. from Alpha's interference, and give her the same clearance level as Alpha, so that she can enter her own Deep M.I.N.D.
144 145 301 Huaxu At this stage, only two people with the same clearance and origin could synchronize.
145 146 302 How does it benefit you if Alpha fails? 147
146 147 301 Huaxu I will not be destroyed by the Ascendant Alpha.
147 148 302 That's it? 149
148 149 301 Huaxu The remaining information is classified.
149 150 301 Huaxu To encourage an agreement, I can inform you of a helpful piece of detail.
150 151 301 Huaxu Based on the result of the simulation, any decision other than cooperation will lead to Gray Raven's demise.
151 152 302 I believe Lucia will win. 153 This is the only way. 155
152 153 301 Huaxu 【kuroname】, you have not considered the challenges posed by the environment and reinforcement.
153 154 302 ...Seems like this is the only way. 155
168 169 302 AniZhuanchangEnd You mean, a part of Lucia's memories has been hidden? 170
169 170 201 1 500011
170 171 301 DialogEnable 1 Hassen That's right. 1
171 172 301 Hassen Now that her frame contains data from Alpha, maybe it's time she has her full memories back. 1
172 173 301 Hassen Nikola withheld part of it at first out of concerns. He believed doing so would benefit our ongoing fight. 1
173 174 301 Hassen But that only solves our immediate problem. The longer it's held back, the easier Lucia gets lost in confusion and doubt. 1
174 175 301 Hassen I believe her bond with the Gray Ravens can keep her from crossing that line. 1
175 176 201 1 500004
176 177 301 1 Asimov I've sent an access key to your terminal. It'll allow you to use the Spear of F.O.S. to access Lucia's Deep M.I.N.D. 1
177 178 201 1 500011
178 179 301 1 Hassen That's where Alpha's memories are locked. You should know what that means. 1
179 180 301 Hassen It's up to you to decide when to use it. 1
180 181 302 Why give it to me now? 182
181 182 301 Hassen Because I believe Lucia will not cross that line anymore. 1
182 183 301 Hassen If you're wondering why I'm not waiting until there's a breathing room... I'll let you know that I've seen too many people lost their lives in my lifetime because they were in doubt. 1
183 184 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Hassen I don't want that happening to you. No point in picking a proper time, then. 1
192 193 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Lucia Before the gap in my memory, I was a member of the previous Gray Raven team. That was before the three of you were a part of the Gray Ravens. 1
193 194 301 Lucia Even without Luna by my side, I was still committed to fighting for Babylonia, for humans and my friends, just like I am now. 1
194 195 301 Lucia But something happened during that gap in my memory, causing Alpha to walk down the path she's on. 1
195 196 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Lucia That's why... I can't give you my promise—I can't imagine what will happen after I remember. 1
223 224 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Lucia This promise is what I want to treasure and protect. That is why I'll no longer treat myself only as a weapon. 1
224 225 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Lucia It doesn't mean that I will lose my edge. Now that I have something to protect, I will not stop fighting, like a sharpened blade in the sheath. 1
233 234 301 DialogEnable Barely standing up straight, you lift your light-headed gaze to find the two of them still battling furiously, but Lucia is starting to falter under Alpha's attacks.
234 235 302 Looks like... now's the time to return what's hers. 236
235 236 401 2 1510
236 237 301 As Alpha goes for a lethal strike, a bullet aimed at her interrupts her attack. She falls back at once, angrily looking at you.
239 240 301 Huaxu Based on the maximum stability possible for a Mind Beacon, this human should have gone psychotic a long time ago. This is an unexplainable phenomenon. I will require time to analyze this error.
240 241 301 Huaxu However, it is my belief that the priority of the entity Alpha lies elsewhere.
241 242 301 Huaxu The target is transmitting access to the Deep M.I.N.D., the recipient being... Lucia.
242 243 204 1
243 244 301 α Transmitting access to the Deep M.I.N.D.? 1
244 245 301 To Alpha, transmitting access during a fight and allowing Lucia to remember her past are both a sure path to Gray Raven's defeat.
245 246 301 α Looks like you're more foolish than any human I know... Gray Raven Commandant 【kuroname】. 1
246 247 202 1 1
247 248 301 Even though you are standing, your delirious mind and physical pain are constantly warring for your last shred of consciousness. Still, you will not fall.
248 249 201 1 500166 5
249 250 301 1 Lucia Commandant! 1
250 251 302 Lucia...! 252
251 252 202 1 1
252 253 301 Your vision and your senses twist and warp, but you still persevere and reach out for Lucia.
253 254 302 Find out who you really are! 255
254 255 302 AniZhuanchangBegin I believe you'll return like how you've believed in us! 256
267 268 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Lucia That's right... I believe in Gray Raven and Commandant... 1
268 269 301 Lucia I don't know what happened in that gap of my past, but I'll never regret being here with Gray Raven. 1
269 270 201 1 500100
270 271 301 1 α Of course you don't know any regrets, shortsighted as you are. 1
271 272 202 1 1
272 273 301 Alpha bends down and leaps toward Lucia, her sword aiming at Lucia's throat. But Lucia steps up against her strikes, countering the impending attack with her blade. Their katanas collide in glistening sparks.
273 274 201 1 500166 5
274 275 301 1 Lucia Maybe I don't know what happened in the past, but I know what's here and now! I don't have any regrets not because I'm ignorant or foolish—it's because every day with Gray Raven is a memory I hold dear! 1
278 279 301 Their bodies are bruised and wounded from each other's attacks, but neither of them is showing any apprehension. Clutching their weapons, they unrelentingly look for openings between their breaths to strike.
