Chapter 212 Tried To Resist, Even If Only With Her Consciousness
――By the [Evil God], Lucia's body was stolen, but her consciousness still existed.
Although she couldn't move her body, whenever the [Evil God] connected to the [God Realm] and did something, Lucia's consciousness, which was usually dormant, would surface because her body's control would loosen slightly.
Even so, she couldn't regain control over her body, but Lucia still tried to resist, even if only with her consciousness.
Because she shared her brain with the [Evil God], Lucia could operate the device that the [Evil God] had functionally expanded.
This was a Selection arm that had decisively diverged from being "human," which was why Lucia Aron had become.
――A copy of herself.
Even though she's not her own self, the original Lucia had died, and what's here is just a replicated substitute. Lucia herself recognized this fact.
There was no fear, conflict, or rejection. However, after having her body stolen by the [Evil God], being used at its whim, and having her memories and personality replicated multiple times in intense battles, Lucia had developed an instinctive tolerance for the act of copying herself, and she had accepted it.
That's why Lucia was able to take advantage of the [Evil God]'s momentary lapse in attention and copy herself using the Brain Support Device.
――To the [God Realm].
Lucia had recorded her self-information in the storage domain where the [Gods]' self-information was recorded. There, Lucia secretly added her own self-information, but she still hadn't regained complete freedom of her consciousness.
Copied information is just that――information. It doesn't have the function to regenerate consciousness on its own.
The Psycho Network, which spreads out boundlessly, is different from humans. It establishes its own consciousness as [Gods], unlike humans. To regenerate Lucia's consciousness copied into [God Realm], a human brain was necessary.
At this point, Lucia had realized that the [Evil God] was building a "Backdoor Jobs". Rather, since they shared the same brain, Lucia had grasped the [Evil God]'s memories and thoughts.
If the "Backdoor Jobs" fell into the [Evil God]'s hands, everything would be over. Fortunately, it seemed impossible for the current [Evil God] to obtain Jobs, but even so, if someone else appeared and the [Evil God] got a hold of that person, it would be the same.
Lucia didn't know if she could prevent that, but she thought of building a means to resist, at least, when that time came.
While the [Evil God] clashed with humanity and fought for system authority in [God Realm], Lucia secretly added her hand to the "Backdoor Jobs" during the moments when the [Evil God]'s consciousness was focused elsewhere.
If the "Backdoor Jobs" were to appear, it would automatically connect to the Jobs holder and the self-information stored in [God Realm] through the "Backdoor Jobs".
And, by occupying just a tiny bit of the Jobs holder's brain processing capacity, Lucia's consciousness in [God Realm] could be regenerated.
Or, in an emergency, she could take over the "Backdoor Jobs" holder's consciousness and body.
So, after the end of the Age of Gods, the "Backdoor Jobs" have been appearing repeatedly throughout a long, long history. Each time, Lucia regained her consciousness and observed human history as if she were an "eye" for the owners of the "Backdoor Jobs."
By borrowing the abilities of the girls who possessed the "Backdoor Jobs," Lucia explored the possibility of defeating the [Evil God] while peeking at the uncertain timing of its arrival.
She also prepared countermeasures little by little, just in case the worst scenario occurred.
Then, about 2 years ago, Lucia sensed the arrival and extinction of that "possibility" simultaneously, although it was extremely faint.
At that time, Lucia temporarily took control of Fiona's body, who was the current owner of the "Backdoor Jobs," and forcibly activated the [God's Descent] skill that had not been activated yet.
That action saved the life of a certain person who was supposed to die.
That action was the Selection that led to the possibility of eradicating the [Evil God].
On the other hand, Lucia Aron, who is talking about here, knows about the interference from two years ago because she used Fiona, which has a "backdoor job", as a network hub and connected it to Lucia in [God Realm] and synchronized her memories.
To preserve her self-information, Lucia had written a system into the nanomachine-based recording media that the [Evil God] had built into her body parts. That was a preparation for when she would recover her own body someday.
In other words, the 3 of us――Lucia here, Fiona, and the Lucia in the [God Realm]――are connected through Fiona.
So, that's why Fiona had a strange feeling towards Lucia. It was due to their mental connection, a psycholine.
And because of that connection, when the [Temple] underground collapsed, and the pillars crumbled, Fiona's mental realm was partially borrowed, and the right arm of the [Evil God], which was sealed within the pillar, was able to regenerate its consciousness. It manipulated nanomachines to escape outside and merged with Ickle's body.
After that, it used Ickle's brain to regenerate its consciousness and integrated its memories. It utilized the unlimited magical energy supplied by the "[Evil God]'s body" to mass-produce nanomachines and rebuild its physical body.
By the way, the right arm of the [Evil God], which became the basis for the current Lucia, no longer had the [Evil God]'s consciousness.
Two years ago, during the process of being removed from the [Seal Coffin] and transferred to the [Imitation Seal Coffin], a brief moment of vulnerability occurred. The [Evil God] took advantage of this opportunity to connect her psycholine to the organization of [Evil God] Cells, which were being cultivated outside, and transferred her consciousness there. This was the true identity of what was known as "Ipsissimus" within the secret society, Chronosphere.
* * *
"――So, that's the story."
Lucia said, closing her mouth.
The various stories that were told... well, it's probably okay to just understand that Lucia did something. Miss Lucia summarized it for me, so I'm relieved.
"In short, let me explain it simply: I copied my personal info to the [God Realm] and tampered with the backdoor jobs created by the [Evil God]. As a result, I share a part of my consciousness with the owner of the backdoor jobs and the me in the [God Realm]. That's why I can use the owner as an 'eye' to gather information on the ground or do various things――it's that kind of feeling."
"Of course, I understood."
"......"
I nodded. I'm telling the truth. I really understood. Seriously, why won't you believe me?
Anyway, let's put that aside for now――I looked away from Lucia, who was reaching for the juice on the table, and gazed at Fiona.
Fiona was staring at Lucia, who was gulping down the juice, with a slightly open mouth.
That's only natural. I also understood that part perfectly――no, I was worried about it because I understood it. Lucia had said, "Two years ago, I temporarily took control of Fiona's body and saved a certain person."
That means...
"Hey, Lucia, can you really take control of Fiona's body?"
"――――!!"
Fiona's body trembled slightly.
It's natural to be scared if someone else might take control of your body.
On the other hand, Lucia put the cup on the table, jumped down from the sofa, and stood in front of Fiona.
"I'm sorry, Fiona..."
Lucia nodded, acknowledging their previous words, and deeply bowed their head to apologize to Fiona.
"I took over your body 2 years ago without your permission. But please believe me. I won't do it again. It might be a weak excuse, but...I've never forced anyone's body who had the 'Sword Dance Maiden' power. I myself have had my body stolen, so I didn't want to do that to anyone else. ...But at that time, I had no choice because I was running out of time. I had to do it to connect with the possibility of defeating the [Evil God]."
"......Tell me just one thing."
Fiona asked with a serious face.
But I didn't know what she wanted to ask. She leaned in close to Lucia's ear and whispered something that only Lucia could hear.
"(...Did you save him, Aaron?)."
"Yeah, that's right."
"...I see. ...Then, I forgive you. I can't stay mad at you."
Fiona smiled wryly and forgave Lucia.
...If she's forgiven Lucia, then it's not my place to say anything. Besides, it's likely that Lucia saved her 2 years ago... If that's the case, then there's no point in me saying anything.
"Thanks, Fiona."
Rarely, the expressionless girl looked relieved, and a gentle smile floated on her face as she hugged Fiona tightly.
And as she buried her face in Fiona's chest... no, as she pressed her cheek against Fiona's,
"I thought you would say that. Because, from that time on, you were already... Aaron's number one fan..."
"――Aaaaahhhhh!!?!"
Fiona suddenly covered Lucia's mouth with a loud "PAN!" for some reason, and Lucia looked like she was in pain, her face contorted in a mixture of surprise and discomfort.
"No way, don't say any more!! It can't be!! How do you know that?!?"
Fiona's face turned bright red, her eyes brimming with tears as she shouted.
Lucia, on the other hand, responded after wincing in pain.
"Ugh...it hurts...I said it already. I've been watching over Fiona from the surface, which means I have some of your memories too."
"Whaaat?!?"
Fiona let out a loud scream.
I'm not really sure what's going on, but if I get what Lucia's saying, it means Lucia's been peeking into Fiona's private life, right? That's definitely something to be angry about.
"How far did you go?!? What do you know about me?!?"
"Fiona's memories after you awakened as the 'Sword Dance Maiden' are mostly shared with me."
"Ahhh noooo!!"
"And...strong memories, I mean, the ones you still remember now, I can access those too. That's why I know about Fiona since you were little."
"What?!? That's...that's...!!"
"But this isn't my own memory, it's just that I've been reading someone else's memories, so it's like a mother watching her daughter grow up. That's why I said I'm Fiona's mom earlier. I have maternal feelings towards Fiona."
"Aaaaahhhhh...!!"
Fiona had an expression I'd never seen before.
Meanwhile, Lucia didn't notice and closed her eyes, recalling precious memories, her face filled with loving kindness as she continued.
"When you were little, Fiona was super cute. When there was a storm, you'd go to you brother's place, beg to sleep together, and then in the morning, you'd..."
"――Don't say any more, ahh! Ah, you! Don't tell anyone about my memories!!"
"Okay. I promise, I won't tell anyone about Fiona's embarrassing memories. I'll keep that secret too. I'll take it to my grave."
"What's this 'embarrassing memory' thing?! What's that thing?! ――No, no, no! Don't say it! Don't tell anyone anything!!"
"Okay. I promise I won't lie. I'll stake my life on it."
"~~~~~~~~~~~~!!"
Ugh, this guy's unbeatable.
Whether it's right or wrong to steal someone's memories, Fiona had her weakness, her "embarrassing memory," grasped by Lucia, and couldn't resist her anymore. Their positions were definitely like those of a mother and daughter.
Fiona was frustrated for a while, but she took several deep breaths and regained her composure.
"Okay, let's get back to the main topic..."
...Composed?
Well, I won't point it out. She changed the atmosphere.
"So, let's get back to the main topic..."
"~~~~~~~~~~~~!!"
"Hey, don't tap my shoulder."
And so, the conversation returned to the main topic, and Lucia continued talking.
"Yeah... about how the Age of Gods began and ended, we've talked about that already. But from now on, I'll talk about the beginning of the Four Families' history... I think..."
"...What's wrong?"
I looked at Lucia, who had stopped talking, and for some reason, her body was shaking slightly.
"Yeah... I feel like I need to pee..."
...That's what happens when you drink that much juice, right? Hurry up and go to the bathroom already!"
This conversation had been going on for a long time. As a result, Lucia, who had been talking nonstop, had gotten thirsty and had been drinking juice in large quantities. It was only natural that she would need to use the restroom.
It was about time for a short break anyway. So, despite feeling a bit annoyed, I prompted her, but Lucia shook her head and said "I'm fine."
"I've got a precise space magic that I've honed from playing online games. When I couldn't log out during event boss battles, I always managed with this."
"Huh?"
"...Phew..."
For some reason, Lucia looked relieved as she let out a sigh, and her expression cleared up.
...Phew?
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