Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Arturo explained, probably realizing Noya's gaze.

"Ferdie is my distant relative. You can think of him as my cousin. We had a very good relationship when we were young."

"...You two are relatives?" Noah blinked. "Is that true?"

"I don't think so. I agree. Ferdi doesn't have the musical talent I do," Arturo said with a smile. "Other people say the same thing. They say Ferdi and I are different. I'm more likable."

"I'm not disliked." Federico said at this time, "Secondly, Arturo is not as popular as she said."

"Hate it, Federico. I'm just talking about our childhood. Let me tell you, Miss Noah, Federico was much cuter when he was a child." Arturo seemed to be planning to continue talking about Federico's dark history as a child, but Federico was obviously not someone who would break down over such things. He spoke with a cold face.

"Arturo, I have a question for you. This is a top priority."

"Hey, Ferdi, you're really boring..." Arturo said helplessly, but he still put on a smile. "Ask, but I can't guarantee I'll answer everything you ask."

"First, do you admit that you are involved in many cases?"

"I admit."

"Secondly, have you ever performed any potentially inhumane Originium experiments on Miss Noa Kyrielight?"

"......?" Noah blinked, but Arturo smiled at this time.

"Well, maybe?"

"...That's not accurate enough, Arturo. I suggest you answer my questions truthfully."

"No, I don't know the specifics, but as you can see, I'm no longer a Sakta, or rather, not a Sakta in the normal sense. In a sense, I've already died once, and now, Miss Noah has become a Sakta. Do you think this is interesting?"

"Arturo, your definition of interesting is rather odd, and I'm confused."

"No, no, no, that's your problem, Ferdie. Think about it, I can choose not to be a Sakota, but Miss Noya has become one. What does this prove? It means that Sakota isn't as sacred as the doctrines or textbooks say. The so-called Sakota qualifications, the so-called halo, the wings, actually have nothing to do with any commandments or holiness. We are not special. This is very important, Ferdie. We are not special. We just have something that others don't have. Miss Noya's existence has proved this—" Arturo began to preach, "Ferdie, you need to seriously think about the significance of this matter, instead of asking meaningless questions."

After being told this by Arturo, Federico did not rush to refute, but really thought about the problem seriously. After a long time, he raised his head and said.

"I still can't understand the true meaning of this phenomenon, but perhaps you're right. It doesn't matter who possesses Zakota's halo and wings. So, on to the next question, Arturo." Federico raised his head. "What's your connection to the remnants of the Witch King?"

Chapter 33: The Sword of Damocles

Is it important? Is it not important? Is it important? Uh… Now the one struggling with this wasn't Federico, but Noa Kyrielight, who was listening in. On the one hand, she knew that the halo and wings actually originated from the hobbies of Ed, the man in charge of the Heaven's Fulcrum project. In other words, not only did these things not have any mystical properties, they could even be said to be completely technological products.

But it was a different story for Sakota. Noah didn't know much about Lateran, but he knew that Lateran really regarded halo and wings as the symbols of the chosen ones. Noah had seen relatively few Sakotas. Among them, the ones he was a little familiar with were the Archangel Remule of Penguin Logistics, whom he met during the start-up period, and the messenger Mostima whom he met later at Rhine Life in Columbia. Mostima was a rather peculiar fallen angel.

Before meeting Mostima, Noah had always thought that fallen angels would be the type that would be suppressed within Lateran. However, after seeing Mostima's situation, he realized that Lateran was not as pedantic as he had imagined.

There was no way. Religion was always associated with terms like pedantry, and even Noah was no exception. However, Lateran's situation was Lateran's situation. What really troubled Noah was that as a product of Project Zero, the administrator had obviously had more far-reaching considerations for her, so she left many things in her soul, one of which was the administrator's own memory. If Noah guessed correctly, if he showed signs of losing control, the almost inevitable insurance mechanism in his body would play its due role.

Although he had only met the administrator once, even subconsciously, the administrator was a very cautious person. Her caution could be described in one sentence, that is, she was so cautious as if she had lost something. This could be seen from the fact that she almost never interfered with the implementation of other plans. She had always been watching coldly and always called herself a bystander. Such a cautious person would never tolerate her creation getting out of control.

So, I probably have a lot of so-called "backdoors" or "safety mechanisms" in my body, and the halo around my head is probably the result of one of these backdoors...

Probably, at least that's what Noah herself speculated, but it's obviously impossible to tell these words to Federico in front of her. It's not that Noya is afraid that Lateran will do something bad to her, but because words are not enough, and the information she has learned is almost impossible to prove herself.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, you will understand. If someone appears in front of Noah and claims to be the product of a previous civilization's salvation plan, and tells you that your eyes, nose, and mouth are actually planned by the previous civilization, and are completely technological creations, and in fact, if there were no plans of the previous civilization, you would become even more bizarre things, let alone believe it, it would be great if you could kill the guy in front of you who is talking nonsense without starting at zero frame.

This is why, although Noah could roughly guess the truth, he was unable to explain it to Federico.

As for the remnants of the Witch King... Actually, judging from the current situation, the problem of the Witch King's remnants is already the smallest problem. The Gemini Queens are still worried about the situation of the black palace that appeared in the clouds that day, and Noah is worried about how long his abnormal condition will last and whether he can hide his halo and wings. The one who is most relaxed among them is probably Arturo, who has been completely deprived of his abilities and reborn.

Although Arturo has lost the ability to manipulate people's hearts, it is obvious that she is not uneasy about being deprived of this ability. She is even very happy about it. She does not blame Noah's behavior. On the contrary... she is even very enthusiastic towards Noah, so enthusiastic that Noah even suspects that she has recognized the wrong person. The Arturo who had been entangled with her before and the Arturo in front of her are simply not the same person.

"I've asked all my questions. They've been recorded and will form part of your testimony in court. You must ensure the accuracy of your testimony." The drone hovering beside Federico had a recording system. After completing the interrogation, he made his usual announcement to Arturo, "Lateran law protects all citizens of Lateran. Arturo, although you're a wanted criminal, you're still a citizen of Lateran. According to the law, I have an obligation to protect you during this period. As long as you don't try to escape again, I will ensure that you return to the Lateran to face personal judgment by Pope Lateran."

"Your Holiness is so busy, how could he still have time to judge me?" Arturo didn't feel uneasy at all, and even smiled. "Besides, I no longer have my halo and wings, so can I still be considered a citizen of Lateran?"

"...There is no precedent for this matter. Therefore, I will proceed in the same way as I did with the fallen angel Zacota. I judge that you still have the status of a Lateran citizen." Federico had obviously thought about this problem. Indeed, after losing his halo and wings, it was hard to say whether Arturo could be called Zacota now. For racial issues like this, Federico had no case to deal with, so he could only proceed in the same way as he did with the fallen angel Zacota.

"You are quite a flexible law enforcer, Fedi." Arturo said with a smile. Even though he had lost his ability, it seemed that Arturo's way of speaking would not improve for a while. Even if Noah wanted to say something, he seemed unable to say it.

After finishing the questioning, Federico turned his attention to Noah who was listening on the side. The reason why Noah accompanied Federico here was actually arranged by the Gemini Queen. After all, the Gemini Queen needed someone to explain Arturo's situation, but the two obviously didn't know what happened specifically, so they could only let Noah explain it in person. Federico pondered for a moment and then spoke.

"Before coming here, I sent my mission briefing to His Holiness the Pope, and he mentioned you..."

"Me?" Noah thought he was going to be interrogated and even started thinking about how to get away with it. However, Federico didn't bother to understand why Noah had a halo around him. He seemed to have completely regarded Noah's situation as a special case.

"Noa Kirielight, ancestral home to Victoria, is a descendant of Victoria's Protectorate, the Kirielight family. She later left Victoria and came to Casimir, where she founded the Hospitallers. She earned merit during the Uka War and became a knight of Casimir. As a child, she was assassinated by suspected remnants of the Witch King, suffering from oripathy. She sought medical treatment in Rhodes Island. After the expulsion of the Knights of Glory, she returned to Casimir, built her own fortune, became a successful businessman, and later became the spokesperson for the Chamber of Commerce. She was later wanted by Casimir for framing the Knights of Glory. After escaping Casimir, she fled to Kjerag to evade capture. She participated in the Kjerag coup, supporting the rise of the Saints, and was awarded the title of Honorary Saint. Later, due to Casimir's relentless pursuit, she left Kjerag and traveled to Hill County, where she participated in the Hill County bombing. During this incident, she participated in the battle between the Deep Pool Force and the Victorian garrison and was captured by the Deep Pool Force."

Federico had obviously done his homework and knew Noah's experiences during this period very well.

"From here on, Noah Kyrielight disappeared for a long time, and only reappeared during the battle between Victoria and the Sarkaz. Due to the confusion in the records, this period is not very detailed. He then went to Rhine Life and became the new General Manager of Rhine Life. He then went to Iberia, and used Iberia as a window to reach Agor, indirectly promoting communication between Agor and the surface. We have already conducted a certain degree of investigation and verification of this resume. His Holiness the Pope is very interested in your experience, and according to the advice of Mostima, the Messenger of All Nations, the door of Lateran will be open to you. After this incident is over, I, on behalf of Lateran, extend an invitation to you. His Holiness the Pope is eager to meet you."

"...The investigation has already come to this extent..." Noah blinked, not knowing how to respond. His own experience was no secret and was actually very easy to investigate. However, after Federico told him everything like this, even Noah himself felt that his experiences during this period were a bit too legendary. However, in more than a year, he seemed to have completely become a character who could live in a storybook.

This made Noah feel complicated. More than a year ago, he thought he would not survive this year...but now, his identity and status have changed drastically.

Not to mention his titles, most of which were honorary, carrying no real power. But if those honorary titles alone could be converted into medals, Noah would probably have a full set of medal bulletproof vests. There were many organizations that extended olive branches to Noah. Lateran wasn't the first. Agor, Iberia, Kjerag, Victoria (now ruled by Vina), even Columbia and Rhodes Island, all maintained very good relations with him.

Even if he wanted, it would not be a problem to ask for a position, but the situation was special now. After Noah finished his vacation and handled the land affairs, he had to return to Agor to fulfill his promise.

So...Noah actually tended to reject Rutland's invitation.

But before she could refuse, Precious's voice rang in her ears.

"Don't rush yet."

"?"

In fact, Precious rarely talked to Noah anymore. Ever since that chess game, Precious had been silent most of the time. Although she had never left Noah's side, Noah knew that this was a tacit understanding between the two of them. There was almost no room for reconciliation between the two of them, but there was no reason for conflict at the moment. Sooner or later, there would be a showdown between them. It was precisely because of this that Precious remained silent for a long time.

However, the information that Noah obtained subconsciously was unknown to Priseth, so the information about the Administrator and Noah being a product of Project Zero were the few things that Priseth did not know.

So, in fact, Precious was very interested in the halo and wings that appeared on Noah's head. No, it was not so much that he was interested in the halo and wings, but rather that he was interested in Lateran because he knew the origin of these things.

If Prisus guessed correctly, the core of Lateran's so-called law was the ground host of the Heaven's Fulcrum. In other words, Lateran and Agor were actually a little similar, both being beneficiaries of the previous civilization.

If Priseth's attitude towards Haisi, or the Deep Blue Tree Project, is to deal with it if possible, then his attitude towards the Heaven's Fulcrum Project is completely different.

The Heaven's Fulcrum Project will not affect the Originium Project itself. After all, the Heaven's Fulcrum is just an orbital weapon. On the contrary, Prisseth is actually quite curious about what Ed left behind.

Ed is a bit of a charlatan, but he is a true genius, one of the few talents who can be compared with a doctor. Apart from the administrators who are completely out of standard, in terms of academic level, Ed can be said to be a person who is fighting for the third place in the Garden of Eden. Prises is quite interested in this relic of a previous civilization that has no conflict with himself.

"You can postpone Lateran's invitation, but you don't need to refuse it." Precious and Noah had a special relationship, and she knew her own ideas alone wouldn't sway Noah's decision, so she offered leverage. "Latlan's laws are likely the mainframe for the Heaven's Fulcrum, which was also part of our original plan. Its existence doesn't affect our positions, so—we can cooperate on this point."

"Cooperation?" Noah frowned. "What do you want to do?"

"The Heaven's Fulcrum is a powerful weapon, but it's just a weapon. As a knife, it's not inherently threatening," Precious explained. "So, we can first take control of this weapon. Noah, even though we're enemies, we don't want Terra to destroy it, right? So, when it comes to the Heaven's Fulcrum, we actually share the same interests."

"...Destroy Terra?" Noah shuddered. Although she already knew that the Fulcrum of Heaven was a weapon, she had no idea of ​​its power. It was better to say that in her worldview, the concept of destroying a planet did not even exist. However, the moment Priss said destroying Terra, she understood why Priss was so concerned about the Fulcrum of Heaven. Could the Fulcrum of Heaven actually have the ability to destroy Terra?

This is the limitation of Noah's own thinking. There is no concept of star-destroying weapons in her worldview. Even after reading the content of the Heaven's Fulcrum Project, she did not realize that this thing is the sword of Damocles hanging over Terra's head. After realizing this, Noah immediately reached an agreement with Priss.

——This kind of dangerous thing cannot be left lying around!

Chapter 34: Shadow Reappears

At this time, Noah always thinks of Ed whom he saw in the administrator's memory. He called himself an angel and even had a halo and wings behind him. He was one of the few geniuses among all people, and could even be said to be the best under the administrator and the doctor. However, even the weapons developed by such a person with all his heart failed to save the world, and finally even became a threat to the new civilization. I don't know what he would feel if he were still alive.

...No, he's not necessarily dead.

Noah looked at Precious, who was finally willing to communicate with him, and complained secretly.

Precious can retain consciousness through Originium, the Preserver can survive as an AI, and the Doctor has been sleeping in a sarcophagus until now. It is possible that Law and Ed have also survived in some way.

In short, none of these people in the Garden of Eden are easy to deal with.

Thinking of this, Noya couldn't help but sigh. Knowing she was a product of Project Zero, she seemed to naturally shoulder a certain responsibility regarding the remains of a previous civilization. No wonder she'd been inexplicably drawn into various incidents triggered by these relics. As a fellow product of a previous civilization, if she didn't take care of it, who else could? She couldn't rely on the completely amnesiac Miss Doctor, could she?

If possible, Noah hopes that the Doctor will not recall the memories of the past. After all, these memories are too heavy. Everyone in the Garden of Eden was obviously a warrior fighting hard for civilization, but in the end they achieved nothing. These are too cruel for the Doctor.

Noya more or less inherited some things from the Administrator through the Administrator's memories. Call it a legacy or a relic, for Noya, the Administrator is her creator, almost like her mother. Therefore, she wants to protect the Garden of Eden that the Administrator values, and... the Doctor who first persuaded her to establish the Garden of Eden. If her grandfather taught her the way of chivalry and made her willing to work hard for Terra, then the Miss Administrator told her what she needs to do, or what she needs to protect.

Although she herself may not have such intention, from beginning to end, the administrator in her memory never really asked her to do anything. She was just blaming herself for not completing Plan Zero in time. Now, after failing to save the world, the administrator rationally understood that her plan was no longer appropriate. She no longer asked Noah to revive the previous civilization, nor did she ask her to help Prissus. Everything was decided by herself.

Perhaps, she has already let it go...

But the more this happened, the more Noah couldn't let go.

She didn't want the Garden of Eden to end so tragically, nor did she want Terra to continue to be shrouded in the shadow of its former civilization. She was both a relic of the former civilization and Terra's Noa, so her position was very awkward...

She wants to take on both responsibilities, but many times, these two responsibilities are even in conflict.

Ms. Administrator...you really gave me a difficult problem.

After leaving Arturo's cell, Noya finally got some free time. She leaned tiredly on the sofa, and she had to be careful not to bump her head against the halo. This thing was quite sensitive. If it was blocked or stuck by something, Noya would feel dizzy, just like being tumbled in a washing machine. What's more important was... this thing could not be turned off. When she slept, there was a night light brightly on her head, which made Noya speechless. In the end, she could only fall asleep with an eye mask on.

Damn, is life in Sakota that inconvenient?

Noah's complaint has exceeded her thinking and turned into a violent reaction of punching the pillow in her hand. Viviana, who was watching intently on the side, curled up the corner of her mouth to smile. With the halo and wings, in a sense, it gave Noah a downward light anytime and anywhere. In fact, in a sense, it gave Noah a sense of divinity. It must be said that Viviana felt that this halo was still very beautiful if it was only considered whether it looked good or not.

"... Viviana... Do you think I'm really here for vacation?" Noah turned her head and complained. Viviana immediately put away her smile and coughed twice.

"This situation is an emergency, and it's over. You can continue to enjoy your vacation, right?" What Viviana said was not a problem. Arturo, the main culprit, has been arrested. As for Fremont, it will not be dealt with in a short time. Now she is indeed a free man. Apart from having to deal with the person in the Paradise Fulcrum in the future, there is no big threat to Noah's vacation trip.

——Before going to the Deep Blue Tree Laboratory, I have to complete the mission of the Heaven's Fulcrum first... Damn, are there more and more things to do on hand?

My parents' whereabouts haven't been found yet...

Speaking of which... Is there someone here whom I have forgotten...

Nuoya suddenly slapped his head and sat up from the sofa, "I forgot, there is also a freeloader!"

"Eh?"

"Ermengard!"

Bang! As the door suddenly flew open, Ermengarde, who had been playing with the cloud beast and fishing, was so frightened that his hat flew off the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Noah. "It's Noah! I was so scared! I thought it was Old Deng who suddenly ran over to catch me."

"...Old Deng?" Noah blinked. "Are you talking about Mr. Fremont?"

"Ah... yes, but don't tell him about this, or I'll be in big trouble." Ermengarde nodded. "What do you want from me?"

"..." Noah glanced around the room. It was quite a mess, with clothes and underwear scattered all over the floor. There was a wardrobe, but it seemed that for Ermengarde, the wardrobe was only used to store miscellaneous items. Seeing the bulging inside, Noah suspected that Ermengarde had taken all her belongings with her when she left Ludwig's Mage Tower. The only slightly cleaner place was on the floor, but there lay Ermengarde and a cloud beast she had caught from somewhere. The two of them were rolling around on the floor, and the white cloud beast's fur was very conspicuous on the black floor. Not only the carpet, but Ermengarde was also covered in cloud beast fur. "...Actually, it's still about the warp."

"Ah..." Ermengarde held the cloud beast and tilted his head in thought for a moment, "Oh, I almost forgot about this."

Ermengarde scratched her head sheepishly. "I had intended to begin my research this afternoon, but a little creature suddenly jumped in through the window. I had to work so hard to catch it that I was delayed."

"..." Noya was silent. Perhaps the cloud beast's sudden arrival wasn't fake, but judging by the situation, the lack of progress definitely wasn't due to the cloud beast's disruption. No wonder Mr. Frémont had such a bad temper towards Ermengarde. It was also because Miss Ermengarde herself was easily distracted by other things... Although Noya didn't want to rush Ermengarde, since it concerned her parents' safety, she had to put on a serious expression. "Miss Ermengarde, do you remember what you promised me?"

"...Ahem, I remember, I remember, I'll start working now." Ermengarde was caught slacking off, and she still felt a little guilty. It was clearly she who offered to help, but she was caught slacking off on the spot. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she couldn't hold it in. She had to reluctantly put down the cloud beast and started to work with a solemn vow.

In fact, what she meant by putting in the work was actually using her talent to open a door to the warp. This was not difficult for a lich, after all, the lich's talent was there. What she really wanted to study was how to bring Noah in safely. Except for the lich who had a natural resistance to the warp, other life forms entering the warp was basically equivalent to suicide. The particularity of the warp was not something that ordinary people could adapt to, not even a powerful warlock like Noah.

As Ermengarde became more serious, she finally got rid of her lazy temperament. It must be said that Ermengarde's research on magic was not something that Noah, who had just changed her career, could match. Although she was gifted and had a natural aptitude for unlocking various magic spells, Ermengarde was different. Her advantage was her extremely rich theoretical foundation. Under Flemont's training, she might be the sorcerer with the most profound research on magic besides Flemont. These theoretical foundations were the result of real accumulation over time. Unless Noah directly copied Ermengarde's memory, it would be impossible for her to catch up with Ermengarde in a short time.

At this time, the hole in Ermengarde's chest began to gradually expand. In just a few seconds, it had expanded to the point where someone could get in. But Noah didn't move, not only because Ermengarde didn't say anything, but also because she instinctively realized the danger of this space. Just looking at the subspace was a very dangerous thing. Only then did she understand why her teacher didn't tell her the truth.

"I haven't studied the Warp much, but my teacher said it's a reflection of the real world. Compared to the order of the real world, it undoubtedly represents chaos, disorder, lack of rules, and danger," Ermengarde said. "Liches are the only race that can enter the Warp at will. Liches are naturally resistant to the Warp. We can maintain our existence and not be consumed by it, but most people can't do that. Therefore, only those with a strong will can enter it... and they must enter in pairs."

"Why do we have to go together?" Noah asked curiously, "What will happen if I go alone?"

"...It's hard for me to explain, but... for example, if you put a cat in a box with a [Completely Random] poison gas generator inside, you can't confirm whether the cat is alive or not until you open the box. The thing that hinders our observation is the subspace itself. However, there are no rules in the subspace, so once you enter it, unless you have an extremely strong will, it's easy to lose your sense of self. In this case, you need another person to observe and confirm your existence."

Ermengarde explained, “Simply put, someone has to prove your existence, otherwise you really might disappear completely.”

"...two people..." Noah suddenly realized why his father had left him and gone to the Warp. It was because his mother had gone there first, and he was going to save her. Therefore, the Lin Guang couple who came here later were also a team of two. It was for this reason that they had to go together.

"Of course, there are no laws in the Subspace. Just because two people are safer doesn't mean they can return safely." Ermengarde had to pour cold water on him. "As for your parents... I can't guarantee that I can help you find them. Even if I do find them, they may not be your parents anymore."

"...What does this mean?"

"Time in the Warp is chaotic. If you actually see your parents after entering the Warp, because of the temporal chaos of the Warp itself... you might see them right after entering the Warp, or a hundred years later. It's all uncertain. Even... you might only see their corpses after entering." Ermengarde shook his head. "We can't be sure what we'll encounter. This is the most dangerous part of the Warp."

"...I'm ready." Noah took a deep breath. "Should I leave now?"

"Of course not. I haven't figured out how to stuff you in there yet. I'm a lich, so of course I can get in easily. Can you?" Ermengarde rolled her eyes, but before she could explain the situation, a cold wind suddenly blew through the room. Ermengarde suddenly shut her mouth, because behind Noah, in her shadow, a figure gradually emerged from the shadow, like a demon, and appeared behind Noah, staring at the opened subspace door.

"...What's wrong?" Noya didn't realize what was happening. She only saw Ermengarde suddenly stop his long speech and look at her with a ghostly look. She thought something was wrong with her, but when she looked down at herself, she found nothing. Then Ermengarde stretched out a trembling hand and pointed behind Noya, so she turned her head away in confusion.

So, she was like this, the huge shadow behind her met her sight. In just a moment, Noah felt as if her whole body was frozen -

Of course she knew what it was.

But why did it appear at this time...why did it appear in this place? She hadn't seen it for a long time.

But, at this moment, it almost woke up again...

Chapter 35: Uneasy

Noah probably didn't expect that someone had engraved an impulse into her body, or rather her blood, like an engraving. On Terra, blood can really inherit power, especially the blood of the gods.

If the power of the Kirielight unicorn wasn't exceptional or violent, merely granting Noya an exceptional physique and mastery over various Originium techniques, then Noya's other bloodline was a completely different story. The bloodline her mother had bestowed upon her was the bloodline of Harandu Khan, the terrifying being known as Nightmare Khan, who had single-handedly defeated numerous nations on the continent, even the Golden Pegasus.