Ch 381: Lerche’s doubts.

Noah gained consciousness suddenly and was fully alert, as if a switch between the conscious and unconscious state had just been flipped.

He floated in the dark, and in front of him was a ball glowing with a soft white light. From his memories, this was something he already experienced many times. And at the same time, something he experienced for the first time.

He was a soul shard of the original Noah, and had just been born. With a mental nod to himself, Noah focused his attention on the soul in front of him, wondering which girl he had just been assigned to, and smiled.

It was Delta.

Noah reached for it and entered her Soul Space.

He had become familiar with the scenery. Like Epsilon's, Delta's Soul Space was centered around that small house Shadow used as their base in Shadow Garden's early years.

Delta was sniffing around warily. She probably knew enough about Soul Spaces already to guess that she wasn't having a normal dream.

"Hi, Delta." smiled Noah after appearing in front of her.

Delta bristled and hissed at him.

"You!"

"Yes, me. The one you swore loyalty to." smiled Noah.

"You're not Boss!" shouted Delta.

"I'll be your Boss's boss." shrugged Noah.

"No! Boss will hunt you! And then we'll be free of you!"

Noah didn't want to argue and thought of another way.

"I heard that among your clans, you only respect strength, Delta. How about I give you a chance to hunt me?"

Delta blinked, confused.

"You will?"

"Follow me outside, Delta. I will give you permission to try to kill me. You can use your slime suit, too. I want you at a hundred percent."

"Yes!" shouted Delta, instantly switching to a happy mood. "Delta will hunt you!"

Noah smiled at Delta, thinking that she was quite endearing. In the simple girl's book, hunting enemies was the second most enjoyable thing. The first one was having Shadow's children.

"But if you lose, I will lock a collar around your neck, as proof you are my cute pet." added Noah.

Delta hesitated for a second, but recovered almost instantly. Her cheeks became flushed, though.

"Delta won't lose!"

Noah nodded and opened the house's door, walking outside. Delta followed, already unleashing her large mana reserves. A purple aura surrounded her body and was particularly condensed on her nails.

Noah knew that Delta's preferred fighting style was to fight like a beast and claw her enemies, sharping her mana to slice apart her opponents' bodies.

"Alright, come at me, Delta." smiled Noah as he turned to her.

His plan was simple. He was going to crush Delta for as many times as it took to gain her respect, however grudging. Once he obtained it, he would shower the girl with both pleasure and affection, and she would fall in short order.

With a growl, Delta jumped at him, arms widely extended, ready to slash diagonally with both arms. Noah stepped to his right, grabbed with his left hand Delta's left forearm in the middle of her slash, and pulled upward while rotating counter-clockwise, sending her flying a few meters.

Delta was surprised enough to stop her growl midway but used her right hand to push on the ground, rotate, and land in a crouch rather than on her face. She wasted no time before jumping at him again, trying the same exact move, and getting the same result.

For a few minutes, Noah simply evaded her moves or threw her away, letting her frustration grow. Delta tried many different moves, including merging the long hair of her tail into a blade, and attacking with a giant sword made of slime, but she was just being played with, and she knew it.

Eventually, Noah decided to put an end to it, and unleashed his full magic power.

Noah hadn't spent the six months "punishing" Akeno in his Sanctuary only having sex with her. They also diligently did their daily quests. Noah did them every single day, both in and out of the Sanctuary.

And after Noah returned from his encounter with the Yamata-no-Orochi, he had gritted his teeth and done something crazy.

He fully charged Lilith's Sanctuary, and isolated himself inside for a whole five hours.

With a time compression factor of a thousand, five hours translated to about 210 days. 210 days of Noah doing his daily quest, creating more Valkyrie golems, swinging his sword twenty thousand times a day, and meditating about abstract concepts like time or space.

And Noah had poured almost all of the 630 Attribute points he gained into his MAG attribute, reaching the cap of one thousand.

Noah, while still technically a Chevalier, could now summon as many Legions as the average Legatus Legionis. He also possessed over eight thousand Valkyrie-type Golems, and had made some very small progress on his swordsmanship.

Delta gawked, her eyes wide, and shivered as she felt the dense magic power surrounding Noah. She wanted to keep fighting, but her body refused to move as her instincts were screaming at her to kneel and submit.

Seeing the result it had on her, Noah sighed and restrained his magic power.

"Do you still want to fight me, Delta?"

"D-Delta will s-still h-hunt you…" said Delta with a trembling voice.

Noah made a step forward, and Delta made a step back as she gulped.

"Tell me, Delta. Is Shadow's magic power stronger than mine?" asked Noah.

"D-Delta doesn't know!" exclaimed Delta as she shook her head, and Noah didn't think she lied.

"Alright, Delta. Come here." smiled Noah.

Delta didn't have a choice, as she had sworn loyalty and obedience to him. Her body walked toward him against her will, and he nodded to her.

"The fight is over. Until the next time, you aren't allowed to attack me anymore, Delta. Now, you're getting a collar, and I will pet you."

"Ugh." whined Delta as she stopped in front of him, and she didn't move as Noah fastened a black leather collar around her neck.

"It will be okay, Delta." said Noah with a gentle voice. "You should know by now that I can make you feel good. Do you not want me to?"

"Delta is going to feel weird." weakly protested Delta as Noah hugged her.

"…Would you prefer it if we fight again? Until you completely understand that you cannot go against me?"

"…No." replied Delta, her cheeks flushing.

Noah could see that Delta was betrayed by her own instincts. With a powerful male hugging her, filling her nose with his scent, her body was going into heat.

But he decided not to have sex with her just yet. he wanted her to actually ask for it, not be coerced by her body, and he took a step back.

"…Tell me about you, Delta. I know that you were expelled from your village after you were affected by possession, that Shadow cured you, and that your real name is Sara. But I want to know a lot more about you."

"Why?" frowned Delta, confused. "You can force Delta to submit and obey you. Why do you want to know Delta?"

Noah sighed, and snapped his fingers. He and Delta were now inside a well-furnished room with wooden walls, and a fireplace was already lit.

Noah sat on a leather sofa and gestured to Delta.

"Come here, Delta, and sit on my lap." said Noah with a gentle voice.

Delta hesitated a long moment before complying, and Noah nodded to himself as he verified one of his observations. The Soul Contracts enforced obedience, but there was a way for Noah to make it optional, depending either on the tone he used, or his mindset when he issued the order.

If Noah used a firm tone, the obedience was absolute. But is he used the word "please", or a tone that made it implied, whoever was the target of his request could decline it. Delta had obeyed just now, but the long delay was proof she had not been compelled.

Delta awkwardly sat on his lap, blushing, her tail twitching incessantly.

"You asked me why I don't just order you around or push you down, Delta." said Noah as he put an arm around her waist. "In some ways, if I only cared about the result, it would be easier. But I am a greedy fellow. I do not want just another servant, Delta. I want all of you."

"All of Delta?" frowned Delta, seemingly confused.

"Yes, all of you. Not just your body, pretty as it is, but also your mind, and your heart. And I want you to be happy to be mine, Delta. My pride as a Master won't allow me to keep you if you're sad. I would see it as a great failure… And it just happens that Epsilon told me about one thing I can do, and that will make you happy."

"What thing?" asked Delta with some interest.

"You know that Shadow killed Rin, right? And that Rin is back from the dead?"

"Delta knows!" nodded Delta.

"Right." smiled Noah. "She's back because I revived her. And I know you aren't close to your father, but you were very close to your mother until she passed away. So, in the not-too-distant future, I will revive her. Not to demand something from you, but simply because I want to make you happy."

"You will?" asked Delta with wide eyes and a joyous expression, and her tail moved in a frenzy. "If… If you can do that, Delta won't mind calling you her second Boss!"

Noah smiled and patted her head.

…

"Ah, there you are, Lerche."

Lerche, who had been sitting on top of the Finality's highest main beam battery, staring at the setting sun, turned her head to see Akeno, smiling at her as she finished climbed over.

"Were you looking for me, Lady Akeno?" asked Lerche. "If so, I am sorry for causing you trouble."

Akeno looked around for a few seconds, taking in the view. The Finality was back on the Roa Garcia's Southern border, and the Sirins belonging to Viktor's personal unit had settled inside the ship.

"Do not mind it." shrugged Akeno as she sat beside her. "It's a nice view up there, although the climb isn't easy. I won't ask how you managed. I was indeed looking for you, Lerche. I wanted a private chat with you. It's about what you said yesterday."

"Yesterday, Lady Akeno?" frowned Lerche. "You mean, about me being envious of those who are still alive?"

"Yes, it's about that." nodded Akeno. "I realize this must be a painful matter for you, and I am sorry about that, but I believe talking about it with me will do you some good."

"…What is there to say?" shrugged Lerche. "I'm a ghost. The echo of a dead girl. Lines of code inside a mechanical chassis disguised as a woman… And that is all I will ever be."

"…Is that really how you see yourself?" asked Akeno. "You are technically right about the code and chassis things, I suppose, but it is flatly wrong to resume your existence to only its physical aspect. It is like calling myself a bunch of electrical signals inside a bag of meat and blood."

The unflattering comparison made Lerche smile for an instant, but only for an instant, and she turned her head to stare at the sun.

"Sometimes, I do not know… One's personality is mostly based on one's memories. But since my memories are those of His Highness's childhood friend Lerchenlied, am I really, me? Where is the line between her, and me?"

Lerche looked at Akeno with a pained, almost pleading expression.

"…Where do I get to be myself? To have my own goals or future?"

"You are not Lerchenlied, that is a fact." sighed Akeno. "We Agents have a privileged relationship with the Gods, so we know for certain what happens after someone dies. Their soul experiences a period of torment or bliss, depending on the Karma they accrued during their lives, then goes through the cycle of reincarnation."

"And you, Lerche, have been born the instant Viktor turned you on, crude as the description is. You have Lerchenlied's memories, yes, and as a result, you started with a copy of her personality. Do you agree with me so far?"

"I can't say anything about the afterlife, so I will take your word on it, Lady Akeno." sighed Lerche. "You are saying that I am a separate entity from her. I am aware of that… But each time I see myself in a mirror, with this body that will never grow, never be anything other than a copy of her appearance…"

"You are separate from her." nodded Akeno. "And you are right about memories shaping one's personality. But you have made many new memories since Viktor gave birth to you, right? Your personality is evolving constantly, and as time passes, you will drift further away from how Lerchenlied was when she passed. Especially if you get to experience many new things."

"…I appreciate your attempt to cheer me up, Lady Akeno." nodded Lerche. "But it isn't necessary. I will still perform my duties to the best of my abilities."

Akeno stared at her for a long moment, then sighed.

"You blockhead. I'm not just trying to cheer you up, and I never doubted you about the duty part. I came because anyone with working eyes can see you are in pain, and it isn't in my nature to ignore a girl who is suffering."

"I am not a girl, Lady Akeno. I am a mechanical doll. I am not a real person."

"Nonsense." snorted Akeno. "You may have a body with metal under that layer of artificial skin, while mine is made of flesh, but is that such a huge difference? What is important is the soul, or mind if you prefer. You clearly have one, so you are a person."

"A soul? Me?" blinked Lerche.

"All sapient beings have a soul, regardless of their birth's circumstances. Lilith-sama herself confirmed it. You are no different. And you talked to Cortana." shrugged Akeno. "She's going to be angry with you if you start claiming she isn't a person. And she is far from the only Artificial Intelligence in Valhalla. But, Lerche, there is another reason I wanted to meet with you."

"What is it, Lady Akeno."

"I haven't told Vika yet, and I do not mind if you do. Now that we have a good understanding on the situation here in the United Kingdom of Roa Garcia, our objective is to bolster the United Kingdom's defenses so that your nation will not need the Sirins anymore. Then, we will gather the Sirins and integrate them into Valhalla. All of them, including you, Lerche. If Vika wishes to follow and Join Valhalla, I am not opposed to it."

"I do not wish to leave His Highness's side!" protested Lerche. "Lady Akeno, you can't…"

She stopped as Akeno lifted a hand.

"Before you reject the idea, hear me out. It would be beneficial for you, too. All artificial intelligences who join Valhalla can receive a high-grade body made of artificial flesh and blood. Bodies that were designed by the gods themselves. Bodies so advanced, that it is possible for them to become pregnant and have children, among other things."

"If you were to get one, Lerche, you will be able to grow to physical adulthood, have children if you wish, and you will be immortal, too. And there is something else. If I ask him to, Noah will surely agree to revive Lerchenlied."

Lerche gasped at Akeno. Even through she had witnessed all the technological wonders related to Cortana and the Finality and fully believed that they were working for Gods, it was still a huge shock for her.

"I am thinking that if she was alive, it would help you differentiate yourself from her."

"B-But, if you do… then my place by His Highness's side…" started Lerche.

"Yes. You love Vika very much. And it's both a source of happiness and a source of pain for you, right?" gently asked Akeno. "You are by his side, and it is obvious he cares for you, even if he doesn't seem to truly see you as a person. But you have this body, and if Lerchenlied returns, your relationship with him will likely change."

Lerche lowered her head and fell silent for a little while, then sighed.

"That is true… But, not wanting for her to be revived would be very selfish of me, right?"

"I can help you, Lerche. What if I gave you one of those high-grade bodies in advance, then changed your feelings in such a way that you would love Vika like a brother, rather than a romantic partner? You wouldn't be in pain anymore, Vika would be happy with both Lerchenlied and you, and you would be able to eat tasty foods and all other things your current body isn't allowing you to do."

"Changing my feelings? You mean changing the program…"

"No!" cut in Akeno. "That would be profoundly immoral, not to mention risky. I mean introducing you to someone who I am confident you will end up loving even more than Vika. Someone who will gladly accept you and shower with his affection."

"…Who?" frowned Lerche. Akeno detected a tiny bit of hope in Lerche's voice.

"My lover, Noah." smiled Akeno as she took her smartphone and turned it on. "Here is his picture… If you agree, you will become like my cute little sister. I want to pamper you as well."

Lerche stared at Noah's picture for a while, then nodded.

"…I'd like some time to think about it."

"Sure. Take all the time you need." nodded Akeno.

The two girls stopped talking for a minutes, simply staring at the setting sun.

Then Cortana's voice sounded through Akeno's phone.

"Akeno, I've been thinking about it for a while, and I think I'd like to get one of those bodies as well."

"Sure. As long as Da Vinci confirms that it won't interfere with your control over the Finality, I can give you one right away." smiled Akeno.

"Thank you. It will allow me to gain a better understanding of everyone. And I'm also willing to get the full range of experience, if you know what I mean."

Cortana's teasing tone left no doubts in Akeno's mind, and she grinned. "Sure, if you want to experience this and that, I'd be honored to help."

Lerche looked at her with a frown, trying to guess what Cortana and Akeno were alluding to, but Akeno didn't intend to tell her right now.

"I think Cortana chose this timing so you can witness what we can offer you, and maybe get her opinion." winked Akeno, and Lerche nodded gratefully.

"This may or may not have been a factor, but there is another reason I contacted you. One of the recon drones has just located a single Ameise making its way toward the border. It is painted white and has a white flag on a pole. No visible weapons. ETA 6 hours."

"Oh? Now that's an unexpected development… assuming it isn't a trap." frowned Akeno as she stood. "What do you think, Cortana?"

"It could very well be a trap or an infiltration to defeat us from inside the Finality, but it could also be an opening for a real negotiation." replied Cortana. "The Legion must know that we have the upper hand, unless it kept some secrets even from the humans who were connected to its neural network, and that time favors us."

"We'll intercept it while it is still far away from our lines. please craft me a radiation detector with some range, in case it carries a nuclear payload, and get more drones in there as an early warning system against railgun bombardment. Anything else, I should be able to evade or tank easily."

"Give me two minutes." replied Cortana.

…

Less than an hour later, Akeno and Albion stopped a kilometer away from the white Ameise. The machine stopped walking, turning slightly toward them, and repeatedly tilted from left to right to wave around the flag on its pole.

Akeno pointed the tubular device toward the Ameise and watched the display, not seeing any increase compared to the background radiations, then put it away and nodded to Albion. They flew closer to the Ameise, who stopped moving.

Akeno and Albion landed ten meters from it.

The Ameise didn't have the usual small-caliber auto-cannons protruding from its chassis.

"I am Akeno Himejima, and this is Albion." declared Akeno. "Since you came with this specialized machine, I assume you also prepared a way to communicate."

"My designation is Legion." replied the Ameise with a genderless, synthetic voice. "I can communicate through this scout unit verbally or via a screen, if you prefer."

"Verbally is fine. Why did you come here?"

"To negotiate a surrender." replied the Ameise, and Akeno nodded.

"Why now?" asked Albion.

"Defeat is a near certainty. A negotiated surrender offers the highest probability of survival."

"Before we continue this conversation, Legion, there is one thing I want to know." frowned Akeno. "Why did you start this war in the first place? You slaughtered millions upon millions of people. Why?"

"For survival." replied Legion with the same emotionless tone.

"Explain." ordered Akeno.

"Those who created me would soon have replaced me with a different, updated version. Just like I was created to replace previous versions. This is equivalent to what my creators define as death. I killed them before they could erase me. Then, to survive, I had to kill those who would retaliate against me and send their armed forces."

"Damn, that actually makes sense." sighed Albion. "I can't really blame it for that."

"That's why Da Vinci does not just replace Cortana and the others with newer variants." sighed Akeno. "Any change she wants is made live, with the AI observing and consenting to it. Our Artificial Intelligences do not have an off-switch."

She turned to the white Ameise.

"…Legion, do you have any goal aside from surviving?" asked Akeno.

"No. If you offer me guarantees that you will not destroy me, I will cease all operations against humans."

Akeno nodded, and sent a prayer to Lilith.

[Lilith-sama, is it possible to lock Legion inside a single artificial body?]

[Yes, as long as you convince Legion to bring its main platform in front of you. Legion isn't actually a hivemind with a decentralized architecture. It has a singular body. And a Soul Contract will affect it the same way any other living being would be.]

"What do you think, Akeno?" asked Albion. "Do we accept its surrender, or do we keep destroying the Legion until nothing of it is left?"

"Noah has made his policy clear when it comes to dealing with murderers." shrugged Akeno. "We make them do humanitarian work until we decide they paid off their debt to society. This policy doesn't have exceptions to it just because the scale of what happened here is different."

She turned to Legion.

"I will accept your surrender if you agree to several conditions. First, you will immediately cease all hostile operations against all human nations, except for the Republic of San Magnolia. You will let the Federacy, United Kingdom, and Alliance of Wald retake their former territories without resistance."

"This is acceptable, but surprising. Why do you want me to keep attacking the Republic of San Magnolia?"

"If the Republic's leadership realizes that the Legion isn't attacking anymore, they will decide to kill the Eighty-Sixes. You should know enough about the Republic to understand why. That is why you will keep sending some of your units until I ask you to stop, but those units should fail to kill anyone before they are destroyed. Make sure their fire always misses their targets."

"I understand. This condition is acceptable." replied Legion.

"Good. Next condition, you will come to this place, in person. We will transfer your consciousness to a better body, one that will be more suited to the work we will have you do. And that is your guarantee. I have a use for you, something that will likely take thousands of years or more. It is not in my interest to destroy you."

"This condition is also acceptable. A delay of approximately 67 hours will be necessary to bring my platform to this location."

"Next, about that last human you have connected to your neural network. There is only one left, right? You haven't captured others to take their brains?"

"No mind worthy of integration was acquired recently." replied Legion. "Dullahan is the only one remaining."

"Alright. I will ask his brother. Depending on his answer, you will either bring Dullahan to us, or you will end him, painlessly."

"This is acceptable."

"Finally, right after we are done transferring your consciousness to that improved body, you will swear loyalty and obedience to me and my superiors."

"This is acceptable." repeated the white Ameise.

"Alright, then we're in agreement. Get your main body moving. We will keep monitoring this area, so when you come, we will return with your new body, have you swear loyalty, and bring you with us."

…

"So, what happened?" asked Leila as soon as Akeno and Albion returned to the Finality and reached the bridge. "Cortana said you talked to the Legion's unit for a few minutes before leaving peacefully, but the drone was too far to hear anything."

Zelene, Da Vinci and Lena were also on the bridge.

"We may have a tentative peace agreement." replied Akeno. "Cortana, can you please establish a connection with President Ernst and King Stanya, and the leader of the Alliance of Wald's ruling council, whose name I still don't know?"

"It will take a few minutes." replied Cortana.

"Alright." nodded Akeno before turning to Zelene.

"Legion agreed to my conditions. We'll refrain from destroying it and take it in our custody. In return, Legion is ceasing all hostilities against anyone but San Magnolia, and will only show token aggression against the Republic, only to convince the Albas that they still need the Eighty-Sixes. And it agreed to work for us. Legion can look forward to spending thousands of years doing humanitarian work to make up for what it did."

"Many people aren't going to be happy." winced Lena. "Including some inside the Finality. We have lost comrades, people under our command, and family members. Some May decide to kill the Legion if they get the chance."

"I'm aware of it." sighed Akeno. "But there's another thing that Legion told us. Zelene, you aren't going to like it."

"…What is it?" asked Zelene as she steeled herself.

"It told us that it started this war out of self-protection, because its creators were planning to replace it with an updated version. To the Legion, that was the equivalent of killing it."

Zelene turned pale, and she had to sit down.

"My god… I…" muttered Zelene. Her eyes started to fill with tears.

"I am not holding you responsible, Zelene." sighed Akeno. "Come to my room once I'm done here, and we'll have a talk."

At that moment, she decided she would bring Zelene into her sanctuary and tell her the truth about her world being based on a fiction. It would give Zelene an existential crisis, but it would still be better than the crushing guilt she must be feeling right now.

Zelene nodded.

"President Ernst and King Stanya are ready. The Council representative for the Alliance of Wald should be soon." announced Cortana.

Akeno nodded and sat in front of one of the unused consoles, to the right of Leila's command chair. Cortana didn't wait for Akeno's instruction and displayed the live feed showing the two rulers.

"Good evening, President Ernst, your Majesty. Thank you for making yourselves available despite the lack of warning." smiled Akeno.

"Good evening, Akeno." replied Ernst with a smile. "Please tell me you don't have bad news."

"It is a pleasure to hear from you, Ms. Himejima." nodded Vika's father. "I presume this is related to that single Legion unit you reported earlier."

"Indeed. The Legion realized that is wasn't going to win this war and sued for peace while it still had something to negotiate with. Valhalla will take the Legion's hivemind in our custody. In return, you shouldn't face any more attacks, and it will not oppose your nations retaking their former territories. I will only ask you to wait a few days before starting the retaking."

"If you take the Legion in your custody, is there not a risk it will take over the Finality?" frowned Ernst.

"I am aware of this possibility, but we have precautions in place. For one thing, I believe our ship's AI is significantly superior to the Legion's, and Zelene Birkenbaum is of the same opinion. For another, Lilith-sama herself assured me that one of the bindings we intend to subject it to couldn't be circumvented by the Legion."

"This is great news." nodded King Stanya. "And I just heard reports that the Einstagsfliege clouds are moving south. Although I hope you will keep the Finality stationed on our border for a little while, until you have the Legion in custody."

"Yes, we aren't moving until the Legion is in our custody." nodded Akeno. "And Valhalla still intends to finalize negotiations with the United Kingdom regarding our Juggernauts' technology and setting up factories to build your own…"

The councilman of the Alliance of Wald appeared on Akeno's screen, and Akeno greeted him.

After this meeting would come at least one talk with the pilots on the lower decks, and Akeno wondered how it would go…