Turning Point (24)
"... Are you okay?"
I cautiously asked, handing over a bottled water pack. I felt like getting too close might lead to some strange smell, so I kept my distance and used telekinesis to pass it.
Licorice glared at me. Her gaze clearly conveyed, 'Did you save your strength just to use it for things like this?' I avoided her eyes, turning my head slightly.
Licorice tore open the water pack roughly, swished the water around her mouth, then spat it out! Thanks to what she just expelled, the Archive was now sullied. I couldn't hide my dismay at the fact that its color wasn't entirely clear.
"Sorry I couldn't protect you...."
I sincerely patted the floor. No matter what our current situation was, the Archive was an unimaginably valuable place.
Even though one sector had been turned into chaos by an explosion, and though everything here was suspicious, regardless of its worth, being defiled like this was disrespectful. It was truly a shame.
"Why are you apologizing?!"
Licorice shouted. Strange. They had said the shielding generator would block noise above a certain decibel, but my ears ached all the same....
When I mimed plugging my ears, Licorice clenched her teeth. She might have been acting lightly, but her concern was genuine. I sensed she was behaving that way on purpose, to avoid making a fuss that could turn a minor problem into a major one.
"Did you always get motion sickness this badly? You've never had it before."
"... How much do you even watch me?"
"Oh, don't start. I've seen plenty. Like when the shuttle crashed, or when things shook a lot, even when you jumped down bare-handed—I saw all of it."
The situations back then were far rougher, yet Licorice had never once vomited in front of me until today. It was the first time I'd witnessed it. Licorice spoke in a tone suggesting it wasn't a big deal.
"Maybe this environment just doesn't suit me. Especially in this storage. You said you felt dizzy too, right? Because the way you perceive is completely different."
"That's true...."
It certainly was a factor that could cause motion sickness. The white lines of sound engraved onto the black background caused a strange dizziness, even when the odd rules faded.
Knowing that symptoms like this could vary widely from person to person, I didn't probe further. Licorice always emphasized that we were in the same boat, so if there was a real problem, she'd share it instead of hiding it.
"Rest for a bit."
"Go. I need to rinse a few more times anyway."
While Licorice rinsed her mouth a few more times, I checked in on Nadia. She spoke up before I could open my mouth.
"I'm fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah! ... I'm just a little stiff, but I'll recover soon."
Listening to her, it seemed that while Big Hand had been designed to avoid such strain, the frequency of her use had become a problem.
"It's surprisingly hard to judge distances. After going to the trouble of using Big Hand, if I failed, it'd make things even worse. So, I just unleashed it roughly where I thought it'd hit."
Nadia giggled sheepishly. She might have smiled like an angel, but her behavior was pure Lucifer. No wonder the area around the stasis chamber showed so many marks of intense force.
I'd found it strange that the range of Big Hand's gravitational field seemed wider than I remembered; now, I understood why.
In that short moment, Nadia had overcharged Big Hand using a spare energy pack and decided to flatten everything around her. I didn't bother mentioning what could have happened if I'd gotten involved—she was sharp enough to figure that out.
"Anyway, thanks to you, things have settled down."
"Eh, more like—actually, yes. I solved the situation! I can eliminate danger!"
Nadia jumped energetically. Then she suddenly let out a wheeze and rubbed her chest. It seemed she still felt pain because the heat from her bio-circuit hadn't faded completely.
'Getting up right away would be too much.'
Maybe Albatross and Griffin were keeping the pureblood supremacists distracted, because there hadn't been any communication about a renewed attack. One thing was clear: both Licorice and Nadia needed rest.
I told the two to catch their breath for a moment. While they rested, it didn't mean I should stand still and do nothing.
Casting a glance at Licorice pretending not to dry heave again, I decided to check out the thing that had attacked us during this lull.
A diamond-shaped clear crystal with a sphere of darkness inside. Trapped by a blue energy barrier, it was completely isolated from the outside world where I stood. The scene inside the stasis chamber seemed as if time had stopped.
'So, inside a stasis chamber, it can't use its power properly.'
Who would have expected that this crystal was responsible for creating that black-and-white world? Especially with attacks that pixelated anything it touched—just remembering it made me shake my head.
I picked up a small cube from the floor. I didn't know how it worked, but part of an object had been trapped within a regular shape, maintaining its exact state at the moment of capture.
There was even a cube capturing the instant when the glue Nadia had launched exploded. Seeing things like this, it seemed phenomena themselves could be pixelated, not just objects.
'It's too valuable to just leave behind.'
Weapons that harm enemies and allies alike can be dangerous, but depending on the time and place, they can be used strategically to our advantage.
As I wondered how I could bring it with me, Licorice—her color somewhat returned—came over to me.
"Want to take it?"
"For now, yes? We've never seen anything like it before."
Until now, we hadn't bothered collecting things from other Stasis Storages because we hadn't felt the need.
Sure, minerals with fire and ice coexisting, or metals with shimmering, suspicious waves, were all amazing. But that was it.
They might have research value, but we didn't think they'd help us escape, so we just moved on.
This crystal, though, was different. Whether in a firefight with the pureblood supremacists, or just tossing it behind us to stop pursuit, its impact would be considerable.
"Then take it."
"Is there a way?"
"There's something called a portable stasis chamber device. Of course, taking it outside in that state is impossible, but apparently there are no restrictions on moving it within the Archive."
Licorice said the rule about not removing it was, in practice, irrelevant. I understood what she meant.
When we finally carry it outside, it would be by throwing it as a weapon, so even if the stasis field stopped working, it wouldn't matter.
I never intended to take it to Earth in the first place. Kyle and the other engineers might feel differently, but that's how I saw it.
"How did you even find out about things like that? And how did you even activate this one?"
Nadia interjected suddenly. I was also curious about what she was asking, so I waited for Licorice's answer. Licorice started to speak, then frowned and glanced at the distance between herself and Nadia.
It was an odd distance—neither close nor far. One thing was sure: they weren't close. Even now, Nadia was slowly edging away.
"... What is it?"
"It's nothing."
Nadia shook her head innocently. Up until just a moment ago, her wagging tail was now trembling. That meant she was lying.
"It's not nothing. What is it?"
"It's nothing."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing! I just feel more comfortable this way!"
The answer that came after Licorice's persistent questioning was not what she'd hoped for. I was convinced, as was she, that there must have been another reason. Both my breath and Licorice's caught in our throats.
"It smells!"
"......!"
An utterly shocked Licorice stood with her mouth agape. After a second, she hastily covered her mouth and leapt back. Her face was as red as it could have been—it would have burst into flames if I'd handed her tissue.
'See, why bother asking if you already knew?' I swallowed such thoughts. Licorice's stamina had already hit rock bottom. She finally managed a voice.
"... Does it still smell?"
"No, um... It's not that bad. You know how it is, I'm a beastkin and extra sensitive. That's all."
She tried to excuse herself, but it didn't work at all. Licorice, unable to bear the embarrassment, bolted into a corner.
She only returned after finishing three more water packs. The awkward distance between us remained.
"It really doesn't smell. Honestly."
"Be quiet...."
I tried to be considerate, but Licorice ground her teeth anyway.
Trying hard to maintain composure, she carried on explaining things she hadn't had a chance to say. I pretended not to notice her trembling hands.
"... As you've seen, each sector has a control crystal. If it's not activated, you can't see them."
"That's right."
"I was able to supply energy to this sector because of that control crystal. I happened to find it in a crack on the floor. When the explosion went off, I saw the sound briefly reveal the gap."
Licorice pointed to where she'd found the control crystal. The control crystal was now floating; she had pulled it out from the spot below.
Normally, nobody would pay attention to the floor. She must've caught it while sitting, dizzy with motion sickness.
"I get that part. But how did you work it? Until now, all you could do with a control crystal was open a security door."
Not to slight the feat of opening a security door, but I was talking in terms of difficulty.
There's a huge difference between just unlocking a security door and activating a stasis chamber in a sector at predetermined coordinates.
And supplying energy within a sector for stasis chamber activation was also a first—meaning she didn't even know the method before.
"I'm not exactly certain about that part."
"What do you mean, you're not certain?"
"It's just... intuition. I had a gut instinct that, if I did it this way, I could accomplish my goal."
Licorice hesitated before continuing.
"I might as well admit it to you two. I suspect this instinct isn't entirely my own."
Not her own. Even though Nadia and I hadn't heard who it belonged to, we already had a good idea. Without realizing, a low voice escaped me.
"Lobelia...."
"That's right. It's not direct interference, but the closer the distance between us, the more unavoidable the overlap becomes. After all, I'm that woman's clone."
As much as she hated to admit it, the fact was undeniable: Lobelia was the original model for Licorice.
Since Sprout started staying beside Licorice, the forced interruptions that used to happen occasionally hadn't occurred anymore. But we hadn't blocked them entirely—a kind of bypass had opened instead. Now, they unintentionally peeked into each other.
Licorice being able to sense Lobelia's influence meant Lobelia was watching through her. Along the way, Licorice was intuitively picking up how to use control crystals, picking up on the residue of Lobelia's memory—the afterimage, so to speak, that had already claimed the Archive.
"The farther we go in, the stronger the interference will get. But it's fine. It's proof we're on the right path. Besides, the more I can use the Archive's systems, the better."
Licorice was definitely more adept at manipulating the control crystals than before. But it couldn't be considered a good thing, since the price was Lobelia's interference.
Whether intentional or not, for Licorice right now, it was a huge burden. To block that interference—or rather, to prevent any mischief should control of her body forcibly switch, she'd even equipped a restraint device to her suit.
If I could, I'd cut off that interference with a single blow. But the other party was an existence older than any star, shining with fierce light. I couldn't even conceive of how to deal with her, so there wasn't much hope of some new idea emerging.
"Sometimes you need to dream impossible dreams. Somehow, things will turn out."
Licorice's voice was tinged with rare self-mockery, which made me tense up. I placed my hands on both of her cheeks, squishing her soft flesh and narrowing her eyes.
Unconcerned, I turned her face this way and that, examining her. The suddenness of my actions left her jewel-like red eyes flustered. I met her slightly trembling pupils.
"It's not impossible."
"......."
"There will be a way. No—I know there is. Didn't you say yourself that you wouldn't just keep taking it? I feel the same way."
I firmly declared that for me, this would not remain a mere thought. I suspected Licorice's unspoken wish was to remove Lobelia or to do something equivalent. In all the time I'd known her, Licorice absolutely despised being linked to Lobelia.
It went beyond discomfort—close to outright hatred. She wished Lobelia would stop interfering, but since it wasn't possible right now, she grudgingly endured. That was the current Licorice.
"It's not a matter of somehow getting through it. Because I'm here beside you. Maybe you couldn't do it alone, but together, we'll be able to land a serious blow. When the chance comes, we'll jump her and beat her senseless until your anger is satisfied. Wouldn't she be so disgusted then that she'd just cut the connection entirely?"
I expected Licorice to snort and agree with me, but the answer I got was not what I anticipated.
"... Let me go. My neck is about to come off."
Startled, I quickly released her. Without realizing it, I'd begun to lift her slightly. No wonder she'd been sagging—she'd ended up on tiptoe.
Seemingly exhausted, Licorice rubbed her neck with a flushed face. She announced she'd fetch the portable stasis chamber device, then walked toward the control crystal—almost running. She really did look like she was fleeing.
"So for me, I guess I'd have to do it this way."
With narrowed eyes, Nadia ran her finger along my arms and sides, as if dividing up pieces of meat. Though her face wore a mischievous smile, her fluffy tail batted the air irritably.
"... Take me? What—me?"
"There might come a time when we're forced to split up. So I'm just preemptively claiming my share."
I wanted to ask what she meant, but the look Nadia was giving me was so unsettling that I just closed my mouth. Apparently not liking that, her tail hit the air even harder.
At last, Licorice returned, holding the portable stasis chamber device. She had practically pulled it out of thin air—it looked quite different from the transparent sample containers we commonly used.
Two crystals sat above and below. When you activated the device, the bottom of the top crystal and the top of the lower one split, turning into vertices forming a kind of surface.
There was resistance but no rejection, so direct contact just resulted in being blocked, not getting hurt. We decided to transfer the crystal holding the sphere of darkness into the portable stasis chamber device.
To be safe, Multipurpose Unit 1 and Multipurpose Unit 2 handled pushing the device into the partially deactivated stasis field. If the stasis chamber suddenly reactivated, anything in contact with it might have been instantly severed.
Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened, and after safely transferring the crystal, we moved on to the next sector.