As the ground shook, Noa dragged her sore body over to the bones the Argent Armor had abandoned. She clung onto Agard’s remains like they were a priceless artifact. The reality of her loss sank in and ate away at her mind, threatening to destroy her sanity completely. She was in so much pain that she felt as if she would’ve preferred to keep her memories forgotten...but the more her sorrow stabbed at her heart, the clearer it became that her love for Agard ran just as deep.
“I’m sorry,” Noa sobbed. “I’m sorry, Agard.” She clutched what was left of his skeleton and apologized over and over again as tears trickled down her cheeks. It was hardly the way she would’ve wanted things to go, but at long last, she was able to apologize for what she’d done. She knew this didn’t mean she’d been forgiven, but she thought that now she may at least have closure.
“Wh-What do we do?” Sita cried. “What now, Lord Orthoaguina?”
Noa raised her head and grabbed the veil on the ground, hoping to wrap the remains with it, but the pain she was in was making it difficult for her. Magiluka took the veil in her stead and handed it to Safina, who carefully wrapped the bones into a neat little package.
“If we don’t do anything, this island will fall before long,” Orthoaguina said. “We can flee, the damage it’ll do to the surrounding environment be damned, or find a way to stop the device somehow.”
Everyone already knew what choice they wanted to make. “How can we stop the device?” Magiluka asked.
“We can’t simply try to destroy it, as that might cause the entire island to explode,” Orthoaguina replied. “After all Nike’s said and done, I doubt he made an emergency stop switch either. The only option we’ve got is to access the inner workings of the device and rewrite the command codes.”
“But how?” Noa asked. She was puzzled by the suggestion and tilted her head to one side, but soon noticed that everyone’s gaze was focused on Sita.
“I-I guess it’s a job for me...” Sita said.
“Precisely,” Orthoaguina confirmed. “We’re lucky that you’re here. It pains me to admit it, but Nike’s the only one who can fiddle with his own device. It’s protected by blood. However, Sita, that same blood flows through your veins, so you have the authorization to access this machine.”
It was then that Noa remembered hearing about where Sita came from during her journey. Elia, Nike’s younger sister, was apparently Sita’s ancestor, which was precisely why she’d been able to interface with so many of Nike’s devices on this adventure. Noa had no knowledge of this, but in fact, many of the devices in Kairomea were also created by him and had this security feature, which was what had led to Sita and her family being responsible for the library tower.
“So, you can just manipulate my body again and deactivate the device, right?” Sita concluded.
“Unfortunately, no,” Orthoaguina replied. “The immense whirlwind of mana surrounding it is interfering with my ability to connect to you. It would be too dangerous for me to take the reins.”
“Huh? Then how—”
“You must do it alone. Mary already gave you an opportunity to practice before, didn’t she? Hmph, she must’ve anticipated that there’d be a situation where you’d have to maneuver through this process alone. Ba ha ha, what a terrifying existence that holy woman is...” Orthoaguina sounded deeply impressed, and Noa widened her eyes with shock. The person in question would’ve surely fully denied all the credit and claimed it was just a coincidence, but tragically, she wasn’t here to defend herself.
Sita took a step back, buckling slightly under the pressure and hopeful gazes she was getting from her friends...but, in the end, she clutched her book with renewed resolve and turned to the device. “I’ll do my best,” she said. “Everyone’s doing their part, and I have to do mine!”
Sita climbed up the staircase that led to the device and ran to the center. It was like the scene of an accident. Its numerous components were running out of control and had turned red-hot, making everything surrounding them burn as well. The pool of mana gathered in the center was so intense that simply being near it could easily be enough to knock someone out.
Noa begged Magiluka to bring her closer to the device. Magiluka must’ve wanted to decline, but Noa couldn’t stand being on the sidelines, and ultimately, her wish was granted.
The light of life left Sita’s eyes as she fought against the device. Time and time again, she vocalized her attempts through that characteristic robotic monotone. “Entering... Failed. Reassessing. Analyzing...” she reported.
At a glance, it looked as though she wasn’t doing much, but throughout her countless tries, her body showed signs of strain. Her eyes turned bloodshot, and her hands quivered as they held the Book of Orthoaguina—it didn’t seem like she’d be able to keep going for much longer at this rate.
“No good,” Orthoaguina said through gritted teeth. “The device is foiling our analysis attempts faster than I’d expected. And the rampaging mana is flowing back at us and getting in our way!”
“It’s...okay...” Sita replied in a monotone. “I’ll figure...it...” Before she could finish her sentence, she coughed up blood, ending her attempt to console everyone. Even so, she was refusing to give up, trying again and again and again.
Noa couldn’t bear to sit back and watch any longer. If only she could somehow suppress the blinding light emitted from the mana... The moment Noa thought as much, a solution popped into her head.
“Lord Orthoaguina,” Noa said.
“What is it, girl?” Orthoaguina replied.
“Only Big Sister Sita’s bloodline can hope to interfere with this device, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, since my body is made from Elia, surely, I’m capable too.”
Orthoaguina fell silent, realizing what she was implying. “If I can somehow suppress the mana flow, wouldn’t it help her infiltrate the device?” Noa suggested.
“You...have a point,” Orthoaguina replied.
“Lord Orthoaguina!” Magiluka cried, trying to shut down the idea, when an explosion rang out and cut her off.
“Lady Magiluka!” Safina shouted as she stood guard in front of the device. “His Highness and his team have been forced to retreat to our position!”
“The guards and all the energy in this facility are being powered by the inexhaustible mana that this device provides!” Orthoaguina roared. “If we can stop this thing, all our problems should be solved! If the girl can help us out, we might be able to find a solution! We don’t have much time!”
Noa nodded firmly. Magiluka fell silent—she was fully aware Noa’s plan had promise, but there was no way she’d be willing to go along with it.
Noa could tell her big sister Magiluka wasn’t ready to accept her idea, so she forced a smile out of her haggard body to try to put on a tough front. “I’ll be fine,” Noa said. “I might just be a copy, but I was created to be the Argent Knight’s vessel. I think I’m sturdier than most.”
“Even so!” Magiluka cried. “You’re already weak, Noa! If you force your body to take any more abuse, you might die! Lady Mary trusted me with protecting you—I can’t just look the other way!”
“This decision isn’t for you or Mary to make,” Orthoaguina said. “It’s Noa’s, and Noa’s alone.”
Magiluka bit her lip. Time was of the essence, and if the massive swarm of guards came into this room, they would no longer be able to stop the device.
“Very well...” Magiluka relented. “But know your limits!”
“I know,” Noa replied with a strained smile.
Magiluka still couldn’t accept this, but she nevertheless rushed toward the prince and her friends to help them out.
“I’m sorry, big sister,” Noa murmured as Magiluka left. She hoped Mary would understand what she had to do.