That night.
After the physically and mentally exhausted Raiden Mei fell into a deep sleep, Aaron looked out at the surrounding streets from the room and asked the System.
Sys?
[What? Using the System as a detector again?]
Well, Emiya Kiritsugu is a ruthless man who would run off to bomb a hotel after all. If enemies are judged to be nearby, I'd better leave here.
The residents of Fuyuki City are miserable enough; there's no need for them to encounter a 'gas explosion' because of me.
[Relax. Just as the System said before, Emiya Kiritsugu has already abandoned that idea.]
[Telling you this intelligence directly isn't a problem, so the System will just say it. Because Assassin appeared in front of Emiya Kiritsugu, he suspects that Kotomine Kirei, who is currently protected by the Holy Church, is actually colluding with his father Kotomine Risei and his mentor Tohsaka Tokiomi.]
[With the possibility of the referee representative Kotomine Risei stepping into the ring, Emiya Kiritsugu naturally has to be a bit more careful. He can't reveal too big a flaw, giving Kotomine Risei a reason to rule him a loss or let other Servants join forces to crusade against him.]
Heh, although I thought of that possibility, I didn't expect him to actually chicken out.
I didn't see him being this smart in the original work.
[After all, the relationship between Emiya Kiritsugu and Artoria in the original work was much worse than it is now. And now, Artoria didn't meet Diarmuid and didn't awaken any weird ideas, so she naturally prioritizes seizing the Holy Grail.]
[Under these circumstances, she will cooperate with Emiya Kiritsugu's actions to a certain extent. And with cooperation from Saber, naturally, Emiya Kiritsugu doesn't need to take actions as radical as in the original work.]
Pretty much what I guessed.
[And there's another reason—he feels someone like you, who fights so well and takes the initiative to attack, shouldn't have set up any magic workshop. Blowing up your base, aside from starting a war with you prematurely and possibly letting others scavenge the spoils, has no benefits.]
This is the operation a Magus Killer and King Arthur should have... But what am I lamenting for? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
If they were as paranoid as in the original work and unable to cooperate, it would actually be easier for me to make a move.
[Who told you to kill Diarmuid first?]
He was the easiest to kill. Blame me for hitting too hard?
[Impossible. Choosing to fight has a fighting way to clear the level; choosing to turtle has a turtling way to clear the level. Your method isn't the best, but at least it's not the worst.]
[If you showed enough strength, Gilgamesh wouldn't have been killed by you so easily—no matter how arrogant, he wouldn't joke with his life when facing a sufficiently powerful enemy.]
True, but now, according to this situation, it's the remaining few's turn to encircle and suppress me.
[The System can't say more. Anyway, what the System just said is intelligence you could deduce; I just helped you save a little time.]
[Also, by the way, even if the Current Push skill evolves into Magnetic Field Rotation, it's impossible to affect the magnetic field of this world. Use it with peace of mind.]
That's great then.
Confirming the System fell silent again, Aaron watched the electric light flickering in his hand and suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
The current time is 2014. According to Kevin Kaslana's statement in the story, the Herrscher of Finality will descend around 2017-2018.
Before, he only thought about surviving first and looking at the rest later. But now, with basic survival guaranteed, Aaron felt he should think about how to face those subsequent Herrschers.
He could certainly squat in a corner and wait for others to solve the problem, but... who could guarantee that the warriors fighting the Honkai would defeat their opponents step-by-step as in the original work?
The Herrscher of Thunder in this awakening was clearly not an opponent Kiana could handle with a baseball bat.
The subsequent Herrschers... God knows if they will suddenly become stronger like the Herrscher of Thunder, causing the Honkai warriors fighting them to suddenly crash and burn.
And Finality will inevitably appear in three to four years. If no solution is found by then, Aaron, as one person in the Honkai World, will inevitably die at the hands of the Herrscher of Finality.
He definitely didn't approve of plans like Project Stigma—'turning humans into Stigmata, Stigmata into humans'. So right now, for Aaron, he needed only one thing.
The means to solve the Herrscher of Finality... or rather, power.
The ceiling for Magnetic Field Rotation was certainly high, but the problem lay in the fact that among those peak powerhouses in the original work, Bai Junlang, who cultivated to peak strength the fastest, took thirty years minimum.
And Aaron's talent level was far inferior to his... Thirty years... in thirty years, even his ashes would be gone, so what was there to train?
"Time... not enough... even if I neglect sleep and food trying to train myself, I can't reach that realm in three years."
"In other words... I still need new power... Tsk, originally I just wanted to find a place where I wouldn't be conveniently blown up by the Honkai. Why did things turn out like this?"
After testing, Aaron found that using the Galvanism skill to perform Current Push could achieve twice the result with half the effort.
According to his own rough estimation, maintaining this cultivation state, he could break through from Current Push to Magnetic Field Rotation in three to five days.
But after reaching Magnetic Field Rotation, if he wanted to refine his power further, it wouldn't be so simple.
As for Raiden Mei... as the Herrscher of Thunder, as long as she released her power, instantly evolving to Magnetic Field Rotation or even breaking through to a more refined level in a short time wouldn't be difficult.
However, as long as she released that kind of power, there was an extremely high probability that the Herrscher of Thunder would seize control of her body.
At that time, the Herrscher of Thunder, coordinated with Magnetic Field Rotation, would only become more troublesome than before.
In the end, I have to make this girl feel no danger so she won't want to act...?
Difficult. A brain-carrying King Arthur who doesn't play by chivalry, and a King of Conquerors who looks boisterous but actually hasn't lost his brain...
Plus Tohsaka Tokiomi still camping at home...
"The remaining ones are no oil-saving lamps. In that case, I might as well go check out that place tomorrow."
If my plan has no issues, then in the worst-case scenario, this plan can eliminate a Servant in advance.
Of course, if the plan succeeds, we should have one more Servant assisting in battle on our side.
After waking up tomorrow, I'll go check out that disgusting place.
I hope Matou Zouken absolutely fails to appreciate kindness. That way...
I'll have absolutely no psychological burden when I blow him up.
.......................
Raiden Mei had a dream.
In the dream, she saw a child who, after leaving the orphanage, kept working part-time while trying to complete his studies.
The girl, raised as a young lady since childhood, only realized through the dream images she saw that life for the grassroots poor was so arduous.
That child gradually grew up. Yet, after finishing his studies and finally obtaining a job, then...
He was hit directly by a truck and killed.
Although Raiden Mei saw that young man gain a second life, she still felt a pang of pain in her heart.
Growing from a child to a youth, after gaining a new life, he was forced to begin new battles.
If in the past, that child was only fighting against a society unfair to him, then after gaining a new life, the youth began dueling with powerful individuals possessing special powers for certain special reasons.
Every duel, the youth's body would spray blood, overwhelmed by the burden. Raiden Mei, watching that dream from the youth's first-person perspective, suddenly discovered—this youth was none other than Aaron, who was keeping watch outside the room.
"Ha... ha... ha... ha..."
Startled awake by the dream, Raiden Mei clutched her slightly aching head, covered in cold sweat as she looked at the door before her.
Aaron, so it's not his first time participating in this kind of terrifying activity...
In past battles, he always fought in such a reckless way. In other words...
In places I didn't see, was he fighting this recklessly on the battlefield this time too?!
Thinking of the blood spraying from Aaron's body after he took off [Demon Armor: Incursio], Raiden Mei felt uncontrollable heartache.
Although she wanted to become stronger, she also had to admit she was very dissatisfied with 'suddenly being dragged to a strange otherworld to slaughter strangers'. It was just that because of her gentle personality, she didn't use this matter to make things difficult for Aaron and the System.
However, now, the dissatisfaction existing within the girl's heart completely dissipated as she saw this dream.
It was true she was an innocent person dragged into this, but Aaron was also an innocent person dragged into this.
Before the battle started, Aaron actively took on the dangerous work and constantly tried to keep Raiden Mei safe within his capabilities.
And his method was very effective—because he created a huge commotion on the pier battlefield, aside from Caster [Raiden Mei] and some Assassin clones, the other Servants indeed all went there.
With all enemies attracted there, Raiden Mei naturally didn't need to face those terrifying strong foes.
Sacrificing his own safety in exchange for his teammate's peace... in Raiden Mei's view, this was simply too wrong.
Clearly, they weren't family or old friends... well, if she had to say, Aaron had even been threatened with death by 'Raiden Mei'.
Under these circumstances, Aaron still chose this course of action...
Why... Aaron...
Why treat me like this?
I'm just a burden who might hurt you at any time. Actually, you shouldn't need to protect me like this at all!
[Hah? Protect? Are you misunderstanding something, coward.]
...Who is it?!
[He never planned to protect you; he has been guarding against you. Because Raiden Mei is too dangerous, he didn't dare face both Raiden Mei and the enemies at the same time. As for the reason—you should know very well.]
Who exactly is it?!
[Who am I? You actually already know very well, don't you? Coward Raiden Mei, you've known your identity and your deeds for a long time. You just forcibly forgot what you did in Nagazora City through some cowardly means.]
[But rejoice. The time is not yet right, so you can continue to retain your consciousness for a while. After my power finishes accumulating, I will come back to retrieve what I should hold.]
Playing mysterious...!
Disrupted internally by this voice suddenly appearing in her brain, faint crackling electricity suddenly appeared on the girl's body.
Subsequently, another voice suddenly appeared in her brain.
[Ding! Detected successful skill evolution. 'Current Push' skill evolved into 'Magnetic Field Rotation'. Bonus skill 'Perfect Realm' automatically learned.]
['Magnetic Field Rotation' Description: A special skill system from the "Sea Tiger" (Warlord) worldview. Based on Current Push, it is a superpower that utilizes, changes, and creates magnetic fields of various ranges and intensities. Aside from the most basic enhancement of striking power, strengthening physical defense, and performing cellular reorganization, training to high levels can cause a series of inconceivable effects such as affecting enemy brainwaves, anti-gravity levitation, decomposing and reassembling matter, creating or modifying life, etc. Its calculation unit is "Horsepower," reaching a maximum of 1,000,000 Horsepower.]
Eh?
I, clearly following what Aaron said, didn't use the power of Current Push!
Then why... did this situation occur?
Why did the stinging pain in my head become more severe for that instant just now?
[Mei, is there a situation on your end? I seemed to sense energy fluctuations coming from your room just now.]
[...I'm fine here. I just had a nightmare and woke up.]
[Aaron, I'm fine.]
[...Then watch yourself. If anything is wrong, remember to speak up immediately.]
[Mn, I understand.]
After cutting the connection with Aaron, Raiden Mei actually confirmed the thoughts of that voice just now through this conversation.
Aaron is indeed worried about me, but... isn't this situation truly a form of precaution?
...How could I have such thoughts!
He clearly chose to protect me, yet I started doubting Aaron's character and actions because of some strange voices.
I really am a bad girl...
Someone like me...
Perhaps I simply don't have the qualification to be his companion.
..............