Since ancient times, people have said that a woman’s tears are a “great weapon.”
“Hey... say something.”
“.......”
“Haa. This is driving me insane, seriously.”
“....Cind....er....ella.....”
“Listen. Calm down first and explain what the hell is going on.”
I didn’t know who came up with that saying, but the “woman” in front of me looked less like she was wielding a great weapon and more like she was about to star in a horror movie.
I’d stood guard outside for seven days, but only a tiny number of Raptures had come swarming in, and most of the time I’d just spent alone, staring blankly into space.
I’d thought that in the world of NIKKE, Raptures would be attacking every chance they got, but apparently that wasn’t the case either.
Anyway, I came back thinking there was no point in keeping watch any longer and went downstairs to catch my breath for a bit, only to find...
No matter how many beautiful girls there are among the NIKKEs, that one’s way out of spec, isn’t she?
Could loveliness and nobility coexist like that? She was beautiful, of course, but also so breathtakingly refined that she practically looked like a goddess lying there.
As I stared blankly at the white-and-blue, pale blue NIKKE sleeping quietly, I noticed Grave at the bedside, head bowed in despair.
I hurriedly helped her up, but all she could do was keep repeating Cinderella’s name in a voice full of gloom.
“Pull yourself together. You have to tell me what happened before I can decide whether I’m helping or not!”
“Ah....aah.....aahhh...”
Grave’s face was hidden by her helmet, but her behavior made it easy to guess the expression underneath.
I was starting to think she might actually say something suicidal, so I grabbed her roughly and demanded an explanation.
“Cind....er....ella....won’t....wake....up.”
“......”
“I....fixed....her....quickly....too....quickly....and....perfectly....”
“You fixed her? Then that means Cinderella should be waking up now—”
“And....yet....she....still....won’t....wake....up....”
“......Huh?”
“It’s....been....five....days....since....I....fixed....Cinderella....I....tried....other....methods....too....but....she....just....won’t....wake....up....”
“So you’re saying you repaired both the body and the weapon, but she’s still unconscious?”
“......”
“Damn... this is insane. I don’t know the exact date, but it’s been about seven days since I went back up outside to keep watch, right?”
“......”
“All the repairs were done in two days, but she’s been unconscious for five days after that...”
It took some time before Grave finally calmed down.
Then she slowly explained the situation as it stood.
Apparently, Cinderella’s repair had gone far faster than expected.
Not only had every part salvaged from the factory been compatible, they’d fit together almost impossibly well.
And once power was supplied, the nanomachines that had been dormant inside Cinderella’s body had activated.
As for her weapon, Glass Slipper, it had already been partially repaired at the factory, so all that was left was swapping in the parts and running compatibility tests.
The biggest concern had been Cinderella’s body, core, and “brain,” but after repairing the severely damaged parts of the core and body and restoring power with the supplied electricity, the nanomachines had apparently repaired the injuries and damage on their own.
Slowly, but in just one day—two days total if you included the inspection and testing of the weapon.
That was how all of Cinderella’s checks and repairs were completed.
In fact, just from the measured numbers, they’d even confirmed that Cinderella’s base specs had risen dramatically.
Then why isn’t she conscious?
Even after I organized Grave’s explanation and put it all together, I still couldn’t find the reason Cinderella hadn’t awakened.
Pairing with Glass Slipper? Already perfectly connected.
Brain damage? Grave had been checking that in real time for decades through the coffin-like incubator cold-sleep device.
Some kind of trance state caused by long-term body damage and unconsciousness?
“......Could it be that being unconscious for so long caused her brain to overheat?”
“!?”
“I’m not a medical expert or anything, but the human brain is full of mysteries. And it’s especially delicate.”
I tapped my temple with a finger.
Grave jerked her head up so fast it made a sound.
“The human brain is a fragile yet limitless part of the body. And in some religions, the human ‘brain’ is said to be a ‘microcosm.’”
“.....I....don’t....understand....”
“Even if it’s made of tiny, microscopic tissue, the parts of the brain that function and the principles behind how it works go beyond ordinary understanding.”
“.....Th....then....Cind....er....ella! Is....the....brain....the....problem!?”
“That’s highly likely. Even if you checked her brainwaves, you still couldn’t tell whether the brain itself was damaged, right? And even if it’s only a rough guess... if the ‘cerebrum’ is damaged, there are cases where consciousness is lost.”
“The....brain....the....cerebrum...? Ahh.....right....I....didn’t....check....for....brain....damage!”
“.....But that’s not something you can just casually deal with, is it? Even with the equipment you have now, it’d be hard to open her head and check whether the brain was damaged.”
“.....Right....if....I....were....the....me....from....back....then....I....could....have....checked....right....away.....”
“........”
After finding a crucial clue, Grave quickly sank back into gloom, and I sighed before speaking again.
“Of course, what I said might not be the answer. There could be other factors too.”
“Huh?”
“You said earlier that while repairing Cinderella’s body, the ‘nanomachines’ suddenly activated, right?”
“...Y....yes....”
“Then let me ask you something before I explain. It’s very related to the point I was about to make.”
After glancing at Cinderella for a moment, I turned back to Grave and asked, “That ‘Heretic’ you told me about before... was Cinderella modified into a ‘Heretic’?”
“Cind....er....ella....! She....is....not....a....Her....etic!”
“......I know she isn’t, so don’t get worked up. What I’m asking is this: was she modified as a ‘Heretic,’ not as a ‘NIKKE’?”
“......Ah....I....under....stand....what....you....mean....”
I calmed her down before she could explode at the mention of Cinderella and Heretics.
Then I asked again, and once Grave caught the point of my question, she answered calmly.
“Cind....er....ella....was....cor....rupted....un....fair....ly....and....mod....ified....by....the....Rapt....ures....into....a....Her....etic.”
“.....Then second, is there basically no difference between a NIKKE and a Heretic in general?”
“No....There....is....a....difference....Her....etics....are....NIKKEs....mod....ified....in....a....Rapt....ure....style....As....for....the....cor....rupted....NIKKEs....dragged....away....through....cor....ruption...., I....think....they....are....used....for....something....like....that.”
“I see. Then lastly, is the source of a Heretic the brain? Or the core?”
Grave couldn’t answer the final question.
Well, Grave had originally been a mass-produced unit, and she’d only ever run and fled while trying to protect Cinderella from those Heretics, so there was probably very little she truly knew about them.
And besides, she must have trauma tied to Heretics themselves.
“S....sorry....I....don’t....know....”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve got some clues that make me suspicious.”
“!? R....really!?”
Using the knowledge and story I’d cleared up to Chapter 26 before falling into the world of NIKKE, I gave Grave my conclusion.
“Like you said, if Cinderella was modified into a Heretic, meaning in a Rapture-like way, then she might not be waking up because of the ‘core output.’”
“...Core....output?”
“Yeah. If you gather up all the information you’ve given me about Heretics, then Heretics basically have differences from ordinary NIKKEs.”
I looked back at Cinderella.
It was my first time seeing her in person, and the only image I had of her was as Anachiro from the first-anniversary Red Ash.
Her appearance was enough to make my heart skip a beat, so I took a quiet breath and continued.
“They command Raptures, wield firepower beyond imagination, and have regeneration through strange weaponry and nanomachines.”
“......”
“You said Cinderella didn’t show any weapon transformation when she was in her Heretic form, right?”
“...Th....that’s....right....Cind....er....ella....only....had....Glass....Slipper....”
“Then what about her regeneration back then?”
“The....nano....machines....repaired....her....quickly....That....made....her....hard....to....injure.”
“Right? So the only weapon transformation was Glass Slipper—meaning the existing Glass Slipper she’d always used—and the Heretic trait of nanomachines was only used for repair?”
“That’s....right.”
“Good. If the problem isn’t brain damage, then it’s probably that after a long period of unconsciousness, her damaged body was repaired, power was restored, and the sudden activation of the nanomachines caused the issue.”
I pointed to the center of my chest, where the heart was.
“To be exact, it’s core deterioration.”
“Core....deterioration?”
“Yeah. What if the source of a Heretic’s absurd regeneration and weapon transformation is nanomachines, and the organ that generates those nanomachines is the ‘core’?”
“.........NIKKEs....and....Her....etics....both....move....with....core....power!”
“Right. A normal NIKKE can probably maintain consciousness even with a low-output core, but a Heretic would likely need a huge amount of energy to generate nanomachines and keep power flowing.”
“And....Cind....er....ella’s....body....is....the....same....as....a....Her....etic’s.”
“And Cinderella’s consciousness had been in a dormant unconscious state for decades.”
“Severe....damage....caused....the....core....to....deteriorate....nanomachines....stopped.”
“During the repair process, the externally supplied power caused the core to suddenly activate, but because it had deteriorated, its output dropped. And in the process, the nanomachines were regenerated and the repair function kicked back in?”
The moment Grave’s gaze, hidden behind her helmet, met mine...
“The core output dropped so severely that Cinderella’s consciousness never returned.”
“Core....output....too....low....so....Cind....er....ella....didn’t....wake....up?”
We both said it at the same time.
===========
“That still doesn’t mean we can just rip Cinderella’s core apart in the open.”
“The....equipment....is....danger....ous....We....need....more....special....ized....equipment.”
“One problem after another. The body repair and weapon repair are both done, and now it’s either the core or brain damage.”
“.....Worst....case....is....brain....damage?”
“We have to pray it’s just some kind of overload caused by core output and core deterioration.”
Whoosh.
The coffin lid closed, hiding Cinderella’s figure from view.
Brain and core problems.
Grave and I had both hoped it would be one of the two, or at least just a core issue, but in the end we had no choice but to set a new goal.
Of course, before setting the next goal, there was something we had to do first.
“It’s something I gave you, but I still don’t know how to use it.”
The hexagonal spare body, presumably modeled after Grave’s face.
In-game, it was an enhancement material used for limit breaks and core upgrades.
Maybe it had been obtained after defeating the tyrant Rapture Ultra, but I had a feeling it would help Grave somehow.
Even so, I had no idea how to use it myself.
Grave silently turned the spare body over in her hands, checking it from every angle.
“......”
“Sorry. I should’ve known how to activate it or how to use it before giving it to you.”
“......”
Seeing her focus on something, I decided not to speak to her anymore.
Grave kept turning it, flipping it, and tapping it with her fingers as if searching for something, then quietly stood up.
Then she lay down on a place similar to the surgical table where Cinderella had been resting.
“Su....per....human.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Just....in....case....please....do....this.”
“....Do what?”
“Take....the....coffin....and....Glass....Slipper....and....last....of....all....the....‘box’....and....go....outside....for....me.”
“Uh....”
“It....might....be....better....if....you....move....as....far....away....as....possible.”
Grave’s tone made it sound like there might be some kind of danger, as if she was trying to send me away.
After hesitating for a moment, I moved the “box-shaped gun” and Glass Slipper outside first, then finally carried Cinderella’s coffin up with me.
When I glanced back, I saw Grave nod once and turn her gaze back to the ceiling, and a faint unease crept over me.
“Noth....ing....serious....will....happen....I....just....want....to....eliminate....the....risk....factors.”
“......If something goes wrong, I’m the only one who’ll feel bad about it.”
“Don’t....worry....I....won’t....leave....Cind....er....ella....I....won’t....die....until....she....wakes....up.”
She was sending me out as if she had some idea how to use the spare body, and while I was worried, Grave answered with reassuring confidence and said she wouldn’t die.
It felt pointless to keep arguing, so I carried the coffin up and left.
Then I decided to keep my distance and watch what happened.
==============
Grrrrrnnnn.
The sound of the iron door closing reached me.
At that sound, Grave looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then down at the hexagonal object in her hand.
How amazing. Something I couldn’t do alone was solved because Superhuman Hook helped me.
Even in a situation where despair and hope kept trading places, Grave felt grateful to him.
An unpayable debt and gratitude she couldn’t put into words.
And on top of that, she felt deeply sorry to the one who had caught her before she collapsed and shown her a path forward.
I think I have a rough idea of how to use this...
She placed the hexagonal object on the part of her body where the core was, right over her chest.
Her muscular build, marked by the kind of practical strength that only comes from surviving for so long, and the scars that testified to everything she’d endured.
And her figure, with breasts that were subtly large for her frame—more precisely, the area where the “core” was.
If I get repaired and the way to wake Cinderella becomes certain—
She had survived desperately for a long time—for a happy ending, for Cinderella, to set a wrong story right.
And then, Hook had suddenly appeared.
The harsh reality that had blocked her path shattered like a “miracle,” and hope came flooding in.
Cinderella. We’re almost there. For our happy ending. And—
Click!
The hexagonal object engraved with Grave’s face—the spare body—activated and attached itself to her body.
A sharp pain, piercing through her skin and reaching the core, flickered briefly.
Even so, she quietly closed her eyes with a smile that made no sense at all.
“Th....ank....you....Hook.”
Her consciousness sank into the darkness.
“You came?”
“Ah....yeah.....”
“Good grief. Just what in the world is that guy...?”
“I don’t know. He’s just a ‘superhuman’ who smashes common sense.”
“Superhuman, my ass. How the hell does a human body—not even a NIKKE’s—produce something like that? Is it some kind of psychic power or what?”
“....Heh heh heh.”
“Oh, so now you’re laughing? I still don’t understand the situation we’re in!”
“That’s why. Superhuman Hook is the kind of person who destroys common sense.”
“So he’s not a superhuman, he’s just a freak—haa... forget it.”
At the voice of a “woman” reaching her ears, Grave slowly opened her eyes and looked at the woman standing before her.
“So? How does it work?”
“I don’t know. I just guessed. It was what you’d call a ‘hunch.’”
“Wow... and you still just jammed it into the core like that?”
“The past and the present are different. My memories may be damaged, but I am still me.”
“Yes, yes. Of course you are. Sure.”
She was the self she had lost in the past.
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