True Love

It was too late.

She had been led astray by the madness and bloodlust Stia had displayed. In truth, Stia had always been perfectly lucid, and from beginning to end, she had only ever had one goal: to keep Zero there so she wouldn't leave.

And Zero had foolishly taken the bait, hoping to collect new data on Stia. By the time she came to her senses and tried to leave, it was already too late.

Stia, who had taken control of Maria's body through [Mind Control], combined holy light with Corrupt Calamity and launched a brainwashing attack on Zero with [Mental Destruction].

"Ugh... you... can't just let go of me..."

Zero's voice came in broken, pained gasps. Red mists of Corrupt Calamity began seeping into her body and eating away at it. Her dangling feet kicked helplessly in the air as she tried to pry Stia's hands from her throat.

But Stia had no intention of letting go. The only emotion in her scarlet eyes as she looked at Zero was coldness.

Once, they had been comrades-in-arms, the closest of partners. If Lady Ash hadn't suddenly vanished—and stayed gone for five hundred years—Stia thought she could have endured it. She could have been content to watch Lady Ash from the sidelines, quietly, from afar.

But after even that most humble wish had been shattered...

Five hundred years.

Did you know what it was like for her to endure those five hundred years without seeing Lady Ash?!

After a hundred years, lying in bed, she desperately repeated Lady Ash's name, tormented until she kept clawing at her own eyes.

That year, Stia vowed that when Lady Ash returned, she would bare her heart to her. This time, she wouldn't hide her feelings out of cowardice.

After two hundred years, she thought of her while bathing, while going out, while walking, while praying, while eating. Even when she prayed for her followers, her mind was filled with thoughts of Lady Ash.

That year, Stia vowed that when Lady Ash returned, whether or not Lady Ash accepted her confession, she would cling to her side and never let go, even if it killed her.

After three hundred years, deep in the Church's Holy Sanctuary, in the innermost confinement cell, she began frantically clawing at the walls until they were covered in scratches. But it still wasn't enough. Physical pain could not drown out the loneliness in her heart. She couldn't accept a life without Lady Ash, couldn't accept this pale, dark world.

That year, Stia vowed that when Lady Ash returned, she would make sure they had a child together, even if she had to use special means.

After four hundred years, she sealed away her memories and tried to escape everything through sleep. But though she had forgotten everything—even if she lied to herself—the nameless sorrow that welled up in her heart each night still made her tears fall on their own.

Five hundred years. Heh heh heh heh heh...

Zero, who was merely a projection from a great distance, couldn't possibly withstand the massive Corrupt Calamity pollution pouring from Stia.

Her gaze gradually grew unfocused, and her struggles weakened. Red mists of Corrupt Calamity seeped into her body like mud. At last, Zero murmured,

"I'm sorry, Master..."

"Zero will... will definitely... save..."

Her voice fell silent.

Stia released her grip on Zero's throat. Though Zero's appearance was unchanged, her eyes had lost their light, leaving her with a vacant stare.

After that, she...

[Clearing records of Master and related images. Complete]

[Restoring information-change records for "Stia." Complete]

[Preparing to initiate consciousness self-destruct program 5421]

Just like Stia, who could only appear as a clone, Zero was the same. And as she was on "foreign soil," even more so.

The Zero here was merely a consciousness construct. Their true bodies were still dormant, and couldn't be awakened so easily. Because of her carelessness, Zero hadn't made her consciousness flee into the network in time. As a result, Stia had successfully taken control of her, not only erasing the records but also cutting off any chance of waking Zero's true body.

It could be understood as Zero having "lost" her memories of this period.

As the self-destruct countdown ended, web-like cracks appeared across Zero's virtual body. In the end, she broke apart into data fragments and vanished completely.

After finishing all this, Stia finally came to Liao Ji's projected model.

Her blood scythe flashed as she tried to separate those ugly, filthy prosthetics from the young man's body.

But in the end, Stia found she couldn't. Zero had already replaced his entire body with prosthetics. The only part that was still "original" was...

His head.

His head.

And then—squelch!

After removing Liao Ji's head from the prosthetic giant, which stood over two meters tall, Stia was finally satisfied.

Her face softened into an expression of tenderness utterly unlike the one she'd worn moments ago. Cradling Liao Ji's head in her arms, she caressed it affectionately, like a baby.

A shy blush rose on her cheeks. Stia breathed heavily, then bent down and gently kissed Liao Ji's forehead.

"Please wait just a little longer."

"Stia will find you soon. Very soon..."

In the end, the model of Liao Ji's head in her arms seemed unable to withstand the Corrupt Calamity surrounding her and dissolved into bubbles.

After turning away with reluctance and regret, Stia shifted her gaze to another projected sculpture inside Haisha Bar.

Another projection Zero had overlooked.

It was a girl.

In the Knights Order's report, she had appeared as the young man's companion.

It was fine.

This had to be a misunderstanding, right?

Or perhaps Lady Ash had simply hired a local guide for the time being?

Repeatedly reassuring herself this way, Stia circled behind Irin's projection. She took a deep breath, reached behind the girl, covered the long hair at the nape of her neck, and lifted it.

When the hair was brushed aside and the back of the girl's neck came fully into view...

Stia: "..."

After destroying Zero's consciousness construct, Stia had returned to the appearance of an ordinary nun. But now, she became Berserk again—more furious, more vicious, even more... jealous than she'd been when facing Zero.

Because there, plain as day, was a profound pattern shaped like a shackle.

How could Stia ever forget that pattern?

It was the most precious thing to her.

It was...

Her Contract with Lady Ash.

Sadly, during the five hundred years Lady Ash had been gone, the power of the Contract had grown weaker and weaker. Without anything to sustain it, it had eventually fallen into a completely broken state.

And yet...

This Contract on the back of the girl's neck.

This, this, this!!

This "brand-new" Contract!!

Stia grabbed "Irin" by the neck, jealousy blazing so fiercely that it seemed ready to burst from her eyes. But just as she was about to snap her neck, she suddenly let go.

"No... no, this won't do. It's not enough."

"I have to make Lady Ash understand that no one else can be trusted. Only me... only I am the one and only choice for Lady Ash."

"Heh heh heh..."

Amid her laughter and murmured words, Stia left Haisha Bar. She didn't continue searching for Liao Ji. Instead, she retraced her steps along the road that led back to the Church.

She had waited this many years. A little longer wouldn't matter.

She would make Lady Ash understand what it meant to show...

True love.

Not long after Stia left, many sparkling blue lights appeared in the air inside Haisha Bar. They were the data fragments that should have dispersed after Zero "self-destructed."

As if drawn by something, the remaining fragments began gathering near the bar's entrance—or, more precisely, flowing into the body of a bionic maid who had fallen there.

All seven members of the Emergency Rescue Squad had indeed been wiped out. There were no signs of life.

But six of them had been dismembered in their battle against Stia moments ago, reduced to scattered parts.

There was one left—the very first to be attacked.

The maid had barely stepped outside before [Piercing Holy Light] pierced her. Her internal chip and various systems had also been destroyed. But since she had suffered only one attack, the integrity of her body remained just above the minimum acceptable threshold.

When the maid's automatic repair program passively absorbed the "external energy source" of the data fragments from Zero floating in the air...

The central chip, burned and damaged by [Piercing Holy Light]...

In the darkness of Haisha Bar, a faint light flickered to life once more.