“Then after so many loops, Rei’s feelings for Claire began to fade,” Dole said. “So she’s trying to stop the loops before those feelings fade away entirely.”
“Correct. It’s a selfish choice. I offered to adjust and erase her memories of Claire François instead, but the Demon Queen won’t lend an ear to me anymore, so I’ve moved on to other strategies.”
I also thought it rather selfish of the Demon Queen, but then again, I could never really know how she felt, not even after experiencing her past directly.
I was head over heels for Claire now and couldn’t picture my love for her ever slipping. But the Demon Queen had lived an unfathomable number of lifetimes. To her, Claire might have been one of the few, if not only, lights in her darkness, and to see that light fade probably terrified her.
“Now hold on a sec…” a voice cut in, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes, Rod Bauer?” TAIM said.
“Are we just supposed to lap up everything you say as the truth? All this outlandish talk of past lives and looping worlds, and somehow everything is this Rei person’s fault? How do we know we’re not just hearing one side of the story? Where’s your proof to back this all up?”
Now that he mentioned it, it was a bit suspicious. That virtual reality thing had left me completely convinced, but if I really thought about it, there wasn’t any guarantee that anything we’d been told or shown was true. As entrepreneurs from my past life had put it: “Those who control information control the world.”
“Is the virtual reality you just experienced and my presence here not proof enough?” TAIM asked.
“Of course not. Something like Salas’s hypnotic suggestions could easily show us the same thing. You’re gonna need harder proof to convince me.” Rod seemed to distrust TAIM. Not that I particularly trusted her either. “And y’know, I don’t really like how you’re just laying the responsibility for everything on Rae and Claire.”
“I only speak the truth,” TAIM said.
“Is that right? What a relief it is that that truth just so happens to work in your favor,” Rod said, a challenge in his eye, but TAIM just smiled back at him. He sighed. “The Demon Queen’s our enemy. That much is clear. The question is whether or not you’re our ally.”
TAIM shrugged. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anything I can say to convince you that I am.”
“Fine. Let’s suppose you are an ally. What is it you want us to do?” Thane asked.
TAIM smiled broadly with Lilly’s face. “Defeat the Demon Queen and take her administrator privileges.”
“Huh? Is that even possible?” Philine asked in a small voice. “Being an, um, administrator basically means being the world’s almighty ruler, right? How are we supposed to defeat someone like that?”
I had to agree with Philine. The Demon Queen was strong beyond belief. That strange magic Rod used had seemed to get through to her, but nothing else we tried so much as left a scratch. Stealing her administrator privileges seemed like a nigh-impossibility.
“Certainly, the Demon Queen is strong,” TAIM said. “But she has many weaknesses.”
“Oh, really? Please, do tell,” William said.
“Firstly, she can’t lay a hand on Claire François. If she could, humanity would have come to an end long ago.”
“Are you suggesting we use Miss Claire as a shield?!” I snapped.
“That wouldn’t be how I’d phrase it, but yes. The Demon Queen could blast an entire mountain away if she so felt like it, but as long as Claire François is around, she’s unable to use such broad attacks.”
“Why, you—”
“That’s enough, Rae,” Claire interrupted. “TAIM, you mean to say the Demon Queen has to hold back when I’m present?”
“That is correct,” TAIM said.
“Miss Claire, you can’t be considering this!” I protested.
Claire ignored me. “All right, let’s move forward assuming that’ll do for defense. We still need to figure out our offense, however. The majority of our attacks can’t get through the magic barrier around her.”
“I believe Rod Bauer can do something about that. Am I wrong?” TAIM asked.
“No hesitation on using me like a tool, eh? Well, whatever. At least I get to make myself useful.” Rod accepted his role with his usual easygoing air.
“Brother, what was that magic you used, anyway?” Yu asked.
“It’s a new large-scale technique I developed. There’s a lot of annoying steps to casting it because of its scale, but it’s strong enough to be worth it! You saw how easily it pierced the Demon Queen’s barrier, right?” Rod flashed us a confident smile.
“I’d like to hear a thorough explanation of it, if you don’t mind,” said Manaria. “I’m sure it’s a military secret, but right now all of humanity’s on the line. I trust you’ll make the right decision.”
“Shoot, I don’t really have a choice, do I? I was hoping to save it for my rematch with you,” Rod said.
“Is that right? But that magic sure didn’t look like it was meant to be used on single targets to me.”
The pair exchanged a wry grin.
At that moment, a sagacious voice echoed in the back of my mind.
“To all of humanity—”
“What’s going on?” Philine said, confused.
“I sense a powerful magic energy!” said Hilda. “This must be the Demon Queen’s telepathy!”
The voice continued without emotion. “I am the Demon Queen, the one who will bring an end to humanity.”
From the sound of things, this voice was being heard by everyone all around the world. For many, this would be their first time experiencing telepathy. I could only hope mass hysteria wouldn’t ensue.
“This world is to be destroyed by my hand. However, I am willing to postpone its destruction.”
“Just who does she think she is?!” fumed Claire. But the color soon drained from her face.
“Bring me Claire François. For every day you don’t, I shall lay waste to a country of this world.”