Chlorine Sodium's Arknights

The cold, quiet room was never a place people lingered. The girl simply sat outside the door, waiting for her older sister to return.

Her older sister had just given her the food and left, looking like she had urgent business again.

And yet, the other half of their two-person meal was already going cold.

What to do?

Even hugging the paper bag dinner to her chest couldn't stop the heat from escaping.

Then, this creepy aunt appeared.

"Creepy... Creepy aunt?!?!"

Though children's words are often unfiltered, this blow still wounded the young girl before her.

"Ugh... who are you?"

"Not a creepy aunt, but a young lady. A noble from the Kazdel royal family, here to discuss a little... business with your sister."

Adjusting her posture, she offered a smile that was seven parts genuine, reserved and friendly.

Her slightly curly, light golden hair shimmered with a faint pink hue under the light. Her fair, supple skin looked as if it could burst with a gentle touch. Not a single trace of manual labor could be seen on her slender, youthful fingers. These were hands that never touched the dirt, hands of royalty living off state finances and taxpayer money.

A small lock of light red hair adorned her forehead, a stark contrast against the light golden strands. Even the Sarkaz horns were subtly modified by the young lady, giving her a unique, noble, and distinctive appearance. Her ruby-like eyes were clear and bright, her fair neck proud and slender. Compared to the young Yelena, who was beautiful but still held the immaturity of someone yet to fully blossom, the girl before her was like a princess from a fairy tale – elegant, noble, and adorned with a hint of a gentle smile.

Flawless, beyond compare.

Indeed, the visitor was a true noble. After all, on Terra, the distinction between nobles and commoners was vast.

Her extraordinary aura, and a seemingly approachable demeanor that hid a well-concealed arrogance in her eyes.

All of it was evident in the aura the young lady exuded.

Due to her own dark past, Yelena's perception of people was far more mature than her peers. At least in her eyes, the face before her was more like a mask.

A false mask, put on for outsiders, not her true self.

"You're looking for... Older sister?"

"Yes, after all, your sister is a very famous Doctor. Of course, I've come to see her. Can you tell me where she is?

Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself.

Pianna. You can call me Pianna~"

Chapter 56: Chapter 55 [What Do You Desire?]

In the dark alley, a silver figure flashed by, disappearing from the isolated island of streetlight into the darkness, only to emerge from the next illuminated island.

A repeating cycle.

"I've actually come to tell you the rules of this mission."

The Administrator, that mysterious woman who always seemed to hover between being a comedic character and a behind-the-scenes boss, spoke thus.

"The protagonist's halo you see is gray not because it hasn't activated. It's because it was always gray to begin with."

"She has already activated, and her destiny has long been decided. The reason it's gray and not shining as you've seen before is...

She never belonged to you."

As if telling a long-prepared dark joke, a smile filled with malice spread across the woman's face, anticipating Chlorine Sodium's reaction.

"The person you need to deal with, the one whose protagonist's halo is black, is not that gray little girl, nor is it the future heir of this port city."

"How about that? Isn't that fantastic news? I've given you a reason to cast off your burdens."

"Then... what will happen to her?"

It was a calm question, yet tinged with hesitation.

Villains don't hesitate.

Hesitation belongs to the indecisive, and villains are never indecisive.

This shouldn't be happening, yet Chlorine Sodium felt a strange...

Anxiety.

As if something was about to happen, or perhaps...

Something was missing.

"Her?"

It seemed like an unimportant question. Elafia wore an expression that clearly conveyed, "Why are you still treating useless things as treasures?" and spoke with an air of obviousness.

"Destiny has been set. Naturally, there will be villains of her matching color to target her, just like what you've been doing to protagonists from various worlds as a villain. What else is there to ask?"

"So, hurry up and go find the protagonist you need to deal with. It won't wait forever... Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going!"

Unexpectedly, Chlorine Sodium turned and left. Elafia tried to stop her, but the young girl had already vanished into the darkness of the alley...

I love a peaceful life...

Her sole pursuit was a slow life, like that of a plant...

But she couldn't have such a life.

Constantly killing, constantly deceiving, constantly...

Creating death, just to survive.

She couldn't even maintain a mechanical daily routine.

She believed she could solve all problems.

Because she was a perfect idealist.

The feeling of dominating everything from above everyone else was great.

Because the desire to dominate and to kill were like uncontrollable fingernails; one cannot stop their nails from growing, similarly, one cannot give up their desires.

It was also a great way to relieve stress, which was why she, Chlorine Sodium, could do it best, as the ultimate villain.

She disliked smoking, and only dabbled in alcohol, not just because of her lifestyle and a bit of germaphobia, but more because smoking represented pressure from exclusion, and alcohol represented loneliness.

However, she didn't like these things, because her idealistic self disdained using such low-level stress relief methods.

Even doctors said she was normal, and she herself was a "doctor."

Even if it was a false identity.

Even just before this, she had already obtained the life she had always dreamed of...

Even if it was brief.

A life disguised as a normal person.

So then.

"What do you truly, ultimately want...?"

She asked herself, but found no answer.

Shadows covered the girl's expression, making her eyes unreadable.

No one knew what she was thinking...

What is a noble? Good question.

"Nobles are a bunch of 'people above people' who can string up commoners whenever they please. Foolish yet smart, without conscience yet professing etiquette, like bandits yet enjoying praise."

"That's what nobles are. Well, you're still too young to understand the opposition of classes, it's normal. You'll understand when you grow up."

Late at night, the warm light cast from the entrance lamp shone on the girl, while the Sarkaz girl sat in the darkness.

Yelena had naturally heard of demons.

"Devils" spat upon by everyone.

Just like the monsters truly revived from stories, capable of scaring children into stopping their night terrors.

But now... it seemed those were all rumors.

Because the demon girl before her possessed the antonyms of all those adjectives.

Beautiful, intelligent, humble, and even very friendly.

She would chat with her just to wait for her older sister to return.

It seemed that ever since she met her sister, the whole world had become friendlier.

The things of the past seemed to have become things covered in dust in the deepest layers of memory.

Even her previous thought, that the person before her was just pretending, seemed to have become baseless conjecture.

Because the person before her was very approachable.

"By the way, is your sister really coming back? It's so late..."

Glancing at the non-existent watch on her wrist, the girl seemed to use body language to express that she had been waiting for a long time.

"Waaah, I don't know... Sister said she'd be back soon..."

"This shouldn't be..."

Suddenly, in a corner of the street, in the darkness, a figure appeared.

Although unclear, little Yelena knew it was her sister.

The familiar feeling surpassed visual identification.

"Looks like she's finally back... You really made me wait a long time~"

"Allow me to reintroduce myself..."

Although she maintained an elegant posture, little Yelena didn't notice that the woman named Pianna seemed to be sprinting towards a "non-human" state.

Her originally ruby-like beautiful eyes were instantly filled with scarlet patterns!

However, if someone could observe closely, they would find that those were not bloodshot veins at all, but crystalline structures resembling electronic patterns. Even in the center of her pupils, a circular structure with a slightly darker color could be seen, much like a camera lens.

Those weren't eyes a living being should have. The electronic eyes, driven by mechanical gears, constantly focused, feeding images into the girl's mind.

Energy surged through the energy conduits to every part of her body, bringing with it an even clearer vision. Her consciousness, traversing time, made everything in the world slow down considerably. She shed her long black sleeves, and her metallic right hand, covered in mechanical joints, was fully exposed to the air. Its deep red color, coupled with the movement of its joints and surging power, revealed a terrifyingly grotesque hand that slowly opened its five fingers. The girl who had been gentle moments before now resembled a coiled leopard, everything poised for action.

This is why our Miss Pianna now possesses such incredible agility and unbelievably swift skills.

"My name is Pianna, and of course...

— I'm also here to kill you."

The Sarkaz girl smiled elegantly.

ps: Lacking inspiration, my head hurts a bit.

I have to go to the dentist today, feeling a bit down, sniffle sniffle.

Section 57 Chapter 56 [Trash Woman and Bad Woman]

[Destiny has been set, and naturally, a villain of her color will appear to target her, just like what you've been doing to the protagonists of various planes by playing the villain all this time. What else is there to ask?]

A villain of her color?

Chlorine Sodium didn't move, looking at the clearly hostile newcomer.

The other party didn't mind releasing their malice in front of her at all.

Her inhuman internal structure, that demonic-looking metallic right hand, was painted a dark red. Even the Sarkaz's horns had been specially decorated.

Furthermore, the slightly mutated structural patterns on her arms even deployed mantis blades when unfurled.

She looked like she belonged to the same category as me.