The suit of Argent Armor was enveloping this skeleton as though it was protecting something so dear. Of course, it was painfully obvious who the bones belonged to—Agard, the knight the Argent Armor so deeply loved. He must’ve died during that incident—or even if he had miraculously managed to survive somehow, he couldn’t have lived long.
Rather than his remains receiving a proper burial, they’d been stored inside this metallic casing like a priceless artifact. Words failed me in attempting to make sense of this insanity. This entire time, even when she’d been speaking and fighting with us, this skeleton must’ve been inside of her. Obsession could hardly begin to describe it.
“You... You’re...” I started.
“Hm? What?” the armor replied. “Oh, Agard, I’m so sorry for all this noise! I’ll silence them soon, so be patient, my dear!”
The Argent Armor skillfully used her sticky hunks of flesh to affix her helmet in place. Does she not understand that Agard’s long dead? Or maybe she just refuses to see it. What’s clear is that she’s detached herself from reality.
“Argent Armor,” I said. “Agard’s...”
“Big sister!” Noa cried, clinging onto me and cutting me off, preventing me from telling the truth.
I looked down at Noa, her eyes watering with anxiety. Now that she’d regained her memories, she likely didn’t want to accept his death either. If someone else dared to vocalize his passing, she was afraid that she could no longer keep herself together.
“Please,” she begged. “Don’t hurt her anymore. It’s all my fault, all of it. I stole her precious memories and her beloved away from her.”
She begged me for benevolence, but I couldn’t just idly sit by. What am I supposed to do? I just don’t know. Simply defeating the enemy in front of me wasn’t the solution for this mess, but I didn’t know what else to say.
Ever since I’d reincarnated into this world, I’d been blessed. I may have been surrounded by misfortune in my previous life, but I’d spent my final moments under the watchful eyes of my beloved parents. I may have lost a great deal at the time, but I’d managed to keep those most important to me close and within my grasp.
“But... But... Noa, what will you do?!” I cried. “I don’t want to just watch! I don’t want to just see you get hurt. I want to save you!” I didn’t have the answer, but I couldn’t just stay silent.
“Ah ha ha! Wow, you’re acting like the heroine of some sort of tragedy?!” the armor jeered. “Hilarious! Air Bullet!” she chanted, once again trying to attack us. “Wind Blade Slash!” Safina shouted, her blades canceling out the projectiles. Magiluka rushed to my side to guard Noa.
“Sure, you might’ve killed Agard,” I pleaded to Noa, “but that doesn’t mean that you have to trap yourself in this unproductive loop!” I knew an outsider like me didn’t have the right to say anything, but I still just had to say something to protect Noa.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” the armor snapped. “Agard’s right here with me. Oops, he’s supposed to be sleeping today. I’m so sorry, Agard,” she cooed sweetly to her beloved.
It was such an eerie sight that it made me shiver. She must have known best that Agard was long dead—it was her reasoning to despise Noa, after all—yet the armor acted as though Agard was still alive and well with her.
“Why are you being so horrible to Noa?!” I cried.
“Huh?” the armor replied. “This copy stole my identity, stole Agard from me, and even killed... Wait... Killed?” She’d suddenly stumbled upon a contradiction. “No... No, not killed?” she muttered, her insanity growing by the second. “No, he’s just asleep. But why do I hate this copy, then...? Agard’s... Agard’s... No! No! Nike! Nike! Where are you, Nike?! He’s here with me, right? I’m wrong, right?! Someone tell me that I’m wrong!”
She roared loudly, searching the room for Nike, but no reply came—the man in question was knocked out cold.
“Agard! Agard’s...d-dead?” the armor wondered. “Did he take his last breath inside me? No, he’s not dead. Yes, he is. He’s dead. He’s not here with me. Not here. Gone. Gone. Gone. Goooone!”
It was terrifying to watch her repeat herself before she froze up in abject bewilderment. The only thing I could do was watch—she was much too erratic to predict.
Suddenly, the armor emitted a high-pitched scream—a shrill screech that flooded the temple, driving cracks into its walls, pillars, and floors.
“Wh-What the...?!” I groaned.
“Oh dear, you destroyed her,” Nike said through his coughs. He’d appeared out of nowhere and staggered weakly beside the armor. Teleporting magic again! Damn it, he still had some more tools up his sleeve... He wasn’t fully healed just yet, but I hadn’t expected him to already be able to move around on his own in mere minutes. Sita had been keeping watch, but even she couldn’t react to his instant teleportation, so he’d slipped from her grasp.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Did I stutter?” Nike replied. “Compare her to that failure you insist on dragging around. While my failed experiment can fall back on biology to preserve its psychological health, such as through amnesia, the armor has no such defenses. Her memories of that day have remained as vivid as ever, and she’s remembered every word and every minute detail. She can’t rely on medication or magic to help her forget. The Armor of God is quite the majestic name for her, considering her soul is so laughably vulnerable and weak. To wit, the constant trauma utterly broke her mental state, and without falsehood to shield her from reality, she completely ceases to function.” It wasn’t with sympathy that Nike looked upon the Argent Armor, but rather derision.
The armor, seeming to at last notice the man before her, feebly outstretched a trembling arm. “A-Agard... Agard... A...gard...” she murmured like a broken record.
As she repeated herself, I realized that her instability was partly because she was still just barely hanging in there, desperate to cling onto even a shred of sanity before she completely lost herself. It occurred to me that perhaps my and my friends’ involvement had ended up worsening her condition.
“Heh heh, yes, it was a humorous sight,” Nike said. “She continued to contradict herself as she frantically tried to hide that she was crumbling away. It was so comical that I almost let the truth slip several times, but as she still had her uses, I exercised restraint.”
Why is this man capable of being so infuriating and punchable with every snarky remark that leaves his lips? I’ve gotta give him a second helping of fist.
“Truly, I must thank you,” Nike continued. “Thanks to your meddling, I was able to utilize her until the very end.”
I had no idea what I was being thanked for, but receiving his gratitude only infuriated me.
“If she’s this far gone, I think I can fool her,” Nike muttered.
Is he using illusion magic? He wavered and transformed into a completely different being—a man I’d seen in Noa’s memories. He was the very man whom the Argent Armor and Noa loved. Agard, the Argent Knight, had manifested before us.
“I’m right here with you,” Nike said, his voice still very much his own despite his exterior resemblance to Agard. “Let’s eradicate evil together!”
“Ahhh! Agard! Agaaaard!” the Argent Armor cried.
“Nikeeee! You bastard!”
It seemed the armor couldn’t even differentiate voices anymore. I couldn’t sit back and watch Nike desecrate the dead, and I rushed ahead, unable to contain my anger. Magiluka, who was beside me, quickly held Noa back. I glanced at the two for only a split second as I continued running ahead, hoping I could pry the armor away from Nike. I reached out to grab him, but I was stopped by an arm fully equipped with armor—an argent arm, to be exact. I gritted my teeth with frustration as I glared at the man right in front of my eyes.
“I didn’t need to go this far, but I’m a touch interested in you now, I’ll admit,” Nike said. “I’ll be testing this out.”
The tendrils of meat from the Argent Armor wrapped themselves around Nike, completely abandoning the bony remains of Agard that she’d stored away so preciously until now. The armor, in her desperate bid to cling onto a reality she could abide, fitted herself onto the illusion of Agard.
“I’d wanted to continue my research here for a bit longer, but this place is of no use to me now,” Nike said. “I suppose this is my cue to leave.” He touched the massive device towering behind him. Letters and magic circles emerged, and the machine began to stir with a mighty roar. Suddenly, the ground started to quake. Wait, but this is a floating island! How can this turtle possibly experience an earthquake?! I guess it might make sense if it were writhing in agony or something. While I was busy thinking about silly ideas, a ball of light formed in the middle of the device and gradually grew larger before my eyes.
“No!” Orthoaguina cried, quick to catch on. “He’s trying to absorb all the mana on this island. At this rate, this land will decay and fall to the ground, and the chunk of mana will destroy the device too! It’ll cause tremendous damage to those below and the surrounding sea!”
“Now then, how will you deal with this, Argent Holy Woman?” Nike jeered. “I’d love to see just how much damage this explosion will cause! Oh, but don’t worry—I won’t kill you. Once I’ve concluded some trials, I’ll make sure to immobilize you and allow you to witness your failure firsthand!”
How malicious could he be? Did he get off on making me feel so repulsed? By creating a situation where he’d backed me into a corner, he was trying to coax me to use my full abilities. I didn’t know how exactly he wanted to test me out, but I had to act compliant for now.
Nike unsheathed an argent blade from beside the pedestal and swung it at me.
“My lady!” Tutte cried. She rushed behind me with Lily in her arms.
“Take this!” Snow said, carrying my maid as she tossed something my way.
I used a weak attacking spell to dodge Nike’s attacks, then I grabbed whatever Snow had thrown me with one arm. It was my weapon—I unsheathed it without thinking twice. Clang! Sharp, metallic clashes rang out as our blades of cold steel pointed toward each other. As the massive device roared away, my final battle against the wicked researcher had just begun.