“You’ve hardly used those words I don’t understand since a while ago.”
Iyue’s voice sounded somewhat hoarse due to the rapid loss of Magic Power… She raised her head and fixed her gaze on the cheek of the “Lian En” illusion.
“It seems this form’s synchronization rate with the subject in your Memories is rising—I’m glad you can understand, Iyue.”
“Lian En” smiled faintly… He looked at her teasingly with that face so familiar and so dearly missed by Iyue.
The curve of his lips still held a faint hint of frivolity, as if that Young Hero were truly standing before her, meeting her gaze.
But precisely because of that, Iyue found it unbearable.
She had once seen the Doppelgangers created by Demon King Sephy… They had appearances, voices, and movements exactly like Sephy herself.
They could perform physical labor in fields and factories, and they could sit in various departments handling work related to writing.
Moreover, some of them could sometimes even joke with the residents who worked alongside them in a tone almost identical to the original—
But Iyue had never really liked them.
It was not because they had any defects… On the contrary, they were lifelike, moved naturally, and even spoke clearly.
But whenever she looked into their eyes, Iyue could never find the unique light of spirituality that belongs in the eyes of Humans who have souls.
And the same was true of the “Magic Bullet” before her, which imitated Lian En’s appearance, voice, and tone so perfectly.
“Enough… you shouldn’t call my name with his voice.”
She clenched her teeth and suppressed the surge of blood rising in her chest.
“This appearance and voice are merely a simulated image constructed to improve communication efficiency with you. By performing personality simulation based on the user—the subject in your past Memories whom you trusted most and who had the highest emotional influence over you—communication resistance can be effectively reduced.”
“Shut up.”
Iyue stared at the face that belonged to her companion, her voice turning cold and low.
“You can gradually stop using those incomprehensible words, and you can imitate his tone, his appearance, even the smallest expressions more and more closely… but you and he are fundamentally different.”
“Lian En would not abandon his companions just because the probabilities you mention are low. Nor would he push someone to death just because sacrificing one person could save more lives. If he were standing here, even if there were only a one-in-ten-thousand chance… no, even a one-in-ten-thousand possibility, he would absolutely never give up.”
Iyue was still desperately maintaining the connection of Magic Power between the two of them, trying to stabilize the torrent of Magic Power within Waletidina that was nearly bursting her flesh apart.
“So stop bringing up those probabilities with me. If you truly understand my Memories, you should know that he and I—all of us—did not make it this far because of pure rational thought and probability calculations.”
“…”
The illusion fell silent. Purple light slowly flowed through the forest.
Waletidina’s body was still violently contracting and swelling… and after a moment, the figure of “Lian En” beside the tree slowly faded away.
In its place was a humanoid figure so blurry it almost had no form.
It had no facial features, no expression, only a human-shaped outline composed of faint purple radiance.
“Simulated personality canceled. Emotional induction plan terminated.”
The voice became flat and emotionless once more.
“Recommendation again: maintain the current autonomous firing process. The target individual’s Magic Contamination level is extremely high. If the removal process is halted, the user’s mortality rate and the risk of Magic Contamination to the surrounding environment will increase significantly. This judgment is based on existing data and current environmental risk. Therefore, this recommendation conforms to the principle of prioritizing the user’s safety.”
“I won’t do that.” Iyue said, word by word. “I will, like that Day… make a [Wish] to you.”
Iyue remembered that day in Jingye Village, when she used the Magic Bullet to save the worker whose fingers she had broken.
At that time, this bullet that was originally meant only to kill enemies responded to a different wish of hers.
What it took was not life, but the injury she had inflicted on that worker in her rage.
That was the only time she had used [Magic Bullet] not to take another’s life… and she also confirmed one thing—this bullet was not only for killing.
“It was because I feared hurting someone important again that I once tried to Escape from you.”
“But if you think that because I once Escaped from you, I will be manipulated and ordered around by you—then you are greatly mistaken. Just like Lian En… this time, I will never again let those I love be hurt, and I will never again make a choice I will regret.”
Iyue turned her gaze to the Magic Bullet, whose warhead was aimed at Waletidina’s forehead.
“So I make a wish to you.”
The Magic Bullet’s faint purple glow trembled.
“This time, what I want to pierce through is not Waletidina’s life.”
Iyue took a deep breath, completely released the limit, and poured all of her remaining Magic Power into the Magic Bullet.
“I only ask you to kill the rampaging Magic Power inside her, and to eliminate the so-called Magic Contamination left on her by the Relic Number 006.”
“Analyzing the user’s request contents,” the Magic Bullet’s voice sounded. Three seconds later, it responded:
“First request: Eliminate the currently rampaging Magic Power within the target’s body—executable. Estimated to greatly consume the user’s Magic Power.”
“Second request: Completely remove the Magic Contamination caused by Number 006 without killing the target individual—not executable.”
“Why?”
“The target individual’s entire Magic Power and its circulation have been completely restructured by Number 006. The Magic Contamination is not attached to the body; rather, it forms part of the mechanism currently sustaining her life. If it is completely removed, the target individual’s vital activity will not be maintainable.”
The Magic Bullet continued:
“In other words, to completely remove the Magic Contamination, she must be killed.”
Waletidina’s arm suddenly convulsed violently, throwing off Iyue’s hand.
Her flesh was about to burst open, and her facial features were so distorted they hardly looked human.
‘No more time to waste!’
“Then just focus on the first one!”
“Warning: Executing only the first plan cannot eradicate the Magic Contamination. The target individual will still pose a risk of losing control in the Future.”
“I know… hurry up and do it!”
“Warning again: This plan will make the user pay a huge price. Based on the current rate of Magic Power loss, the user may fall into a state of severe Magic Power depletion after firing, possibly leading to internal organ damage, coma, or even death—”
“Are you fucking done yet!”
“…Command confirmed.”
The instant Iyue cursed, the flickering light of the Magic Bullet suddenly converged.
The warhead originally aimed at Waletidina’s forehead shifted and hovered between the two of them.
At the same time, Iyue felt the remaining Magic Power in her body being completely drained.
“Ah…”
Her vision went black.
From her limbs to her spine, then to her heart, every channel through which Magic Power flowed felt as if it had been pierced by sharp needles.
Her body instinctively tried to cut the connection with the Magic Bullet, but she forcibly endured it.
Beneath the bullet, purple light gradually gathered—condensing into a silver-white revolver.
Its barrel was long and slender, its lines elegant… including the engraving on the barrel, everything was exactly the same as the weapon she had sealed away in her home. “…[Silver Moon].”
Iyue softly called out its name.
The cylinder automatically swung out, and the Magic Bullet inserted itself into one of the eight chambers.
She raised the gun, and the cylinder immediately rotated back into place with a faint [click].
She aimed the muzzle at Waletidina’s chest.
This former comrade was still trembling in pain.
That pitch-black Soul Color endlessly continued to taint the surrounding Magic Power… it was almost like a dark cloud of death hanging over the two of them.
“Waletidina. You asked me before to kill you, and you said that was a once-in-a-lifetime request… I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”
She pulled the trigger—there was no deafening gunshot, nor any burst of flame or smoke. All that remained was a faint purple light that silently pierced Waletidina’s chest.
Waletidina’s violently swelling body suddenly froze… then she swayed and collapsed to the ground. A moment later, that purple light shot out from her back, carrying the Magic Power that had been raging inside her as it rose into the sky.
The pitch-black Soul Color dissipated… Blood gushed from the pierced hole in Waletidina’s chest.
“Waletidina…!”
Iyue turned pale with fright and rushed forward to support her up.
The wound was truly too horrifying… Iyue could even see the forest behind her through that bloody hole.
But just as the Magic Bullet had said, the Magic Power throughout her body had completely transformed.
Her flesh gathered and grew wildly around the wound… torn tissues reconnected.
Damaged organs and broken bones were filled and repaired, and even the pierced armor slowly coalesced like a living thing, returning to its original form.
The sight was simply horrifying. Yet as Iyue watched the wound gradually close, she still felt genuinely glad—
She had finally saved her former comrade, this noble Knight who could give everything for her Lord.
And at the instant she confirmed this, Iyue’s tensed body finally gave out.
She fell backward, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.
“Silver Moon” slipped from her palm, dissolving into motes of light… The price was even greater than she had imagined.
The pain her body produced was enough to drive her mad, and she could not even vent it by groaning loudly or rolling around, because she could not move at all.
After a long while, the breathing of Waletidina, who lay opposite her, gradually steadied.
She slowly opened her eyes and sat up blankly—
“Iyue…?”