68. Ancient Ruins (4)

※Below was translated by Sephallia. Thank you very much.

“Lambert-san, that’s…!”

“Just as I explained earlier, that’s the boss. The artificial intelligence took the shape of who you and Lily-sama would struggle to fight the most―not that I’d predicted it’d be Rei-san though.”

“S-So that too is a robot?”

The hesitation the two of us felt standing before this “enemy” was by no means small. It was supposed to be a mimicry, but it really looked like Mother Rei herself was here.

“What, did I make it hard on you two? Sorry I guess, but that’s the intention.”

The way it spoke, the shrewd and playful smile, all of it was just like the Mother Rei I knew.

“Lily-sama, are you going to be able to fight that?”

“H-Honestly it’s going to be pretty difficult, Lily will figure something out.”

I couldn’t deny this was a difficult opponent for me to have to defeat. That said, I only just recently lost in a fight against my mother a couple of days ago, and this could be a good opportunity to settle the record.

“Hm hm? You’ve both got guts. I know a fair share of kids that would’ve already folded.”

“Oh shut it already. Lily-sama, let’s do this!”

“R-Right!”

Unsheathing my trustworthy sword, Lily-sama and I charged forward in unison. We were so in tune that even our breathing synced up. With Lily-sama on the left and I on the right, we rushed in to strike her.

“You’re both so impatient. How about this for a start?”

At the snap of her fingers, the boss shot what could only be described as hot rays of light from the walls. We were about to suffer a direct hit, but both Lily-sama and I managed to just barely react and twist our bodies to avoid them.

“Magic…?”

“It’s science. The model for my experience was extracted from each of your memories, but I’m pretty confident I’m stronger than she is so make sure to be careful, ‘kay?”

“How shameless of you after stealing my mother’s face!”

“What, does it bother you that much? Haha, sorry. But well, that just means this was the right choice after all. Look, your breathing’s gone ragged and your heartrate is up.”

“…! Why you…!”

Falling to its provocations―or rather, pretending to―I charged toward the boss once more. This time, taking the rays into account.

“Oh? You’re faster now. So you were just feeling me out before, huh. In that case, I guess I’ll start by inhibiting that speed of yours.”

“―?”

Even before the boss finished talking, I started feeling a change in the floor beneath me. It felt as though the floor had transformed into a muddy swamp, leaving us on unsteady footing.

“Muddy Soil!?”

“Well, an artificial reproduction of it, I guess? The entire floor here is made of us nanomachines, you see. While I can’t actually use magic, I can very accurately replicate the resulting phenomena.”

Simply put, the difference we felt was actually a result of a change in the nanomachines that composed the ground. In that case―!

“Lily-sama!”

“Right!”

The unsteady ground almost seemed to recede as we both regained our footing. Lily-sama cast Air Step, forming buffers between our feet and the floor to give us a platform.

“Hmm… You’re quick to adapt, aren’t ya? Sure is an odd feeling having all my tactics dealt with so quickly.”

“Did you make a mistake when you tried to copy her? Or perhaps your data is simply out of date?”

“By that you mean…?”

“Lily-sama and I are no longer the same as we were in the past!”

“I-Isn’t that a little misleading!?”

During the incident where Lily-sama nearly withdrew from the academy, I’d suffered a horrible loss to Mother Rei. If my mother came at me again right now, fully intent on defeating me. I might lose to her again. Even so, I found myself confident about something.

I would not lose to the enemy in front of me.

“There are three reasons why you can’t beat us.”

“Oh? Care to share?”

As though scoffing at us, the boss showered us in heat beams even as we talked. As I dodged the beams, I managed to close the distance to try a number of slashes at the boss.

“First. You are simply imitating Mother Rei, you are not actually her.”

“That’s true. But even so, isn’t she the one the two of you find it the most difficult to fight against?”

“Your imitations are based on what you’ve seen in our memories, isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Mother Rei at times seems bottomless. You won’t even come close to her if you’re constrained by the mere fragments in our memories…!”

“Hm… well, I suppose you have a point.”

That said, it couldn’t be denied that the boss was formidable. The various spells the nanomachines could replicate combined with heat rays and various other scientific weaponry in its arsenal to create a fierce onslaught.

Even so, I didn’t feel that we’d lose.

“Second. It’s not just Lily-sama and I who are here right now.”

“Hm? You mean Lambert-san and Simone? But what are they gonna do in a fight?”

“They might not offer much in the way of direct combat prowess, but―”

“―!”

Just then, the beams that had rained down upon us came to a stop.

“Sorry, it took some time!”

“Lambert-san, thank you very much!”

The boss’ main body aside, the heat beams and other scientific weapons were, without a doubt, part of the dungeon itself. If they weren’t being operated independently, Lambert-san would be able to disable them with his hacking

“Hm… this is a surprise. To think someone in the Magic Loop would be this knowledgeable of science. So? What’s the third reason?”

“There shouldn’t even be a need for me to say it.”

For a moment, I relented my attacks and hung back. The boss did not let even that moment’s opportunity go unnoticed. The boss did not content itself just luring us in, but also exploited any opportunity it could find to call check. It really didn’t let its guard down for a moment, exactly like the Mother Rei I knew.

And that’s exactly why―

“This is the end game you’d planned, right, Alea-chan!”

“―!?”

“Correct, Lily-sama!”

The boss had ultimately only called check. Lily-sama and I had long read that move, we fought while planning ahead so we could call checkmate.

“I see, I suppose that makes sense.”

It seemed the boss was aware anything it did now was in vain. Still, it generated a sword in each hand to intercept both Lily-sama and I as we each closed in. Even so―

“That’s right. Lily-sama and I, working together as we are now, can beat even the original Mother Rei―!”

“R-Rei-san, Lily’s so sorry!”

Even without any sort of signs to coordinate, Lily-sama and my own slashes lined up perfectly in sync, putting an end to the boss’ final struggle.

“… Ah yeah… makes me feel lonely to say this, but I suppose I should congratulate you two.”

The boss fell to the floor and even as it began to fade away starting from its fingertips, it said that. I dropped to one knee right by its side, watching over its final moments.

“You… You really resemble Mother Rei to almost a disgusting degree.”

“Yeah, guess so. If I was just copying any other person, it wouldn’t be possible to get this close, but Rei Taylor―or rather Oohashi Rei―is an exception.”

“O-Oh, c-come to think of it, Rei-san would have been the one who developed you, right?”

While we didn’t know all the details, we were aware that the basic design behind this world had been done by Mother Rei.

“Yup, that’s what’s going on here. I guess if I have to say it, offering my congratulations just now was done in part in retaliation.”

“Retaliation?”

“I can become anyone or anything, but I can never become myself.”

“???”

“There’ll be a day where you understand too, Alea, that day isn’t too far from now.”

More than half of the boss’ body had already disappeared as it dropped that enigma.

“Go on, take the Dungeon Core with you. In the first place, this facility has more or less succeeded in its purpose. But―”

“But?”

“… Nah, actually it’s nothing. It’s not like saying anything now will solve the problem, and it’s just something I’m hung up on anyway.”

“Just what is it that you’ve been trying to say?”

As the boss had taken mother’s form, perhaps it was inevitable that it seemed much more human than any of the other robots. And, at least to me, it felt as though she was grieving over something.

“Hey, you, do you have a name?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t there something? Like an individual identifier.”

“…”

The boss looked surprised before making a face that somehow looked both sad and happy. There were no tears, but even as she smiled, it looked as though she was crying.

“It’s the first time someone’s ever asked… something like that.”

“I just feel it’s only appropriate to honor a life I’ve taken.

“… Do I count as a life? But still, since you’ve gone out of your way, I’ll tell you. My name is―”

I engraved that name into my heart.

“Hey, Alea.”

“What is it?”

“Even if you’re no longer yourself, can you remain the way you are?”

“… I’m not sure I quite understand.”

When I said that, the boss inexplicably laughed.

“Yup, fair enough. I’l be praying that you never do.”

With those final words, she’d completely disappeared.

“… Just what is it that she wanted to tell me?”

As I whispered that to myself, Lily-sama came to my side and said,

“Lily doesn’t know. She doesn’t know, but Lily thinks that she was able to pass on with content.”

Her words were filled with sympathy and care.

“And why do you think that?”

“Because, Alea-chan, you were able to cut her down, as her.”

“…”

“She was strong, wasn’t she.”

“… Yes, very.”

Lily-sama and I both stood, leaving that area behind us. Simone and Lambert-san moved on to the deepest part of the dungeon where the core was, and we followed after them. When Lambert-san finally extracted the core and stored it in Simone’s bag, the dungeon gave off a low hum. According to Lambert-san, that was the sign that the dungeon had switched into hibernation mode.

And with that, we’d completed the dungeon. All that was left was for us to leave.

Before we did, I turned back to look at the floor on which “she” disappeared one last time. There wasn’t even a spec of dust to indicate that she’d once been there.

Even so, I couldn’t help but feel that something important had been left behind in that very spot. Still tortured by my reluctance to leave, we stepped out of that room.