We wouldn’t wait for Lios’ instructions. We would move at our own discretion.
As soon as we had decided this, an email from Aura arrived. It was timed as if it had been waiting for our decision to form.
Subject: Ple@$e
Sender: Aur&
Message:
I will b@ w@i+ing at
Λ Lambda Server Merciless Lamenting Furnace.
Be sure t() c0me.
Don’t look at Cubia this time.
&le@se. Segment.
We had Wiseman stay in town to track Helba’s whereabouts, and BlackRose, Balmung and I decided to go to the area.
“What is this segment she mentioned?” asked BlackRose who had finished reading the email.
“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly.
“But I think you’ll understand if you meet Aura.”
The area’s spawn point was a dark red polluted field.
We ran through some noise.
Aura was in the deepest part of the dungeon.
Just like last time, she was floating in the hazy air.
When I tried to talk to her, I was surprised to see a crimson bead emerging from her chest.
Maybe this is the segment she was talking about?
I found it to be somewhat familiar.
When I had killed the Reaper Skeith, three spheres scattered from him. This was one of them.
The red ball rose into the air and was drawn into Aura’s body.
It seemed that Aura’s translucent body was shaking and her outline became defined.
Aura moved her lips. It seemed that she was desperately trying to bring something to our attention.
“What is she trying to say?” BlackRose whispered.
I walked up to her and tried to listen.
Suddenly I heard a grotesquely hoarse voice.
Of course it was not Aura’s voice. It was…
“Cubia!” yelled BlackRose.
A huge pale root emerged from the ground between me and Aura, obstructing us. Aura’s body swayed as if it had been fuelled by the momentum of the roots, and it disappeared.
“Wait, Aura…” I called out, but it was no use.
Aura was gone.
It was the same as before. I was obstructed by Cubia again.
Cubia’s roar echoed across the area again. The area was swallowed by darkness, and Cubia appeared in front of us.
“So big… that thing is massive! Can we fight such a thing?” Balmung, who had not experienced a battle with Cubia, groaned.
“If I don’t defeat it, we’re done for!” BlackRose yelled.
The third encounter with Cubia was a fierce battle.
When we were first confronted by Cubia, we weren’t a match for our opponent and we were blown away in a breath.
After that, we were able to strengthen ourselves and drive off Cubia in the second battle. After that, with Balmung at our side and having grown further, we should have greatly exceeded the strength of the previous Cubia.
Despite this, Cubia toyed with us, confounded us, and even drove us close to the point of destruction.
We could have been defeated without Balmung‘s tireless efforts.
Indeed, Balmung was a trained player worthy of the cool name of “Descendant of Fianna.”
At the end of a long struggle, he finally delivered a final blow to Cubia.
The mortally wounded Cubia screamed in pain and slowly began to sink to the ground.
We did it, I thought.
However, a moment later, Kubia jumped up and disappeared as if sucked into the sky where the color tone had been reversed.
Got away again.
We had seemingly won, but Cubia was just driven away.
Cubia was stronger than before.
It’s true that we aren’t fighting against small-fry monsters that are like the players, but despite gaining a lot of experience points, Cubia was growing faster than we were.
If there were to be another battle with Cubia, how intense would it be? I could only imagine…
“But Kite, I understood something,” BlackRose said suddenly in a confident voice.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Cubia doesn’t want you and Aura to meet each other.”
I recalled that now.
Now that she had mentioned it, she was correct.
Every time I tried to meet Aura in response to her call, Cubia was there, obstructing it all.
“But… what happens if Aura meets me? Why does Cubia get in the way?”
“That I don’t know,” BlackRose answered quickly. “Well, why don’t you ask Wiseman about that?”
That was right.
The World was said to have been created with the Epitaph of Twilight as its foundation. Then, it would be best to ask the expert, Wiseman.
No, wait.
I noticed something strange.
Cubia had not been listed in the Epitaph of Twilight.
Why was that?
After this info, I would have to ask Wiseman about it.
When I returned to Carmina Gadelica thinking about such things, some unexpected people were waiting for us.
Merchant NPCs. It was the Pig Race Squad.
Lios was standing in the center.
All had their arms folded and were silently staring at us.
“Don’t act again without permission,” Lios growled in a low voice. It was a voice that sounded as though it absorbed all the bad humor in the world.
“I’m trying to stabilize the data, so I don’t want you to make any moves. Please be careful in the future. If not, I’ll have to penalize you. Let this be a warning to you…”
He gazed at us in turn.
“Understood?”
I was reluctant to say that he was so generous.
“I don’t understand.”
“What was that?”
Oops. I had inadvertently spoken out loud.
“Please cooperate with Helba.”
I decided to say it. There was no taking it back. I just had to persuade him.
“What…”
Lios, who seemed to be caught off guard, opened his eyes.
“What are you saying?”
“He’s telling you he can’t listen to your instructions!” yelled BlackRose.
“We can’t do it alone. We’re at our limit,” I said.
“But Helba knows something we don’t know. If you work with Helba, we may be able to resolve the case.”
“Hold on. That’s wrong…”
“Throw away your silly pride and join together. Please. For The World…”
I bowed.
“Please believe in Helba.”
Suddenly, Lios yelled.
“Be quiet!!!”
The space quivered.
BlackRose and I suddenly crumbled from by the tremendous roar and the two of us fell backwards. I saw Balmung go backwards out of the corner of my eye. His right hand was reflexively trying to grasp the hilt of his sword. The roar was that powerful.
For some reason, the Pig Squad were lined up with their backs straight.
Lios looked down at us.
“Do you guys really think that? Do you guys, players of The World, really believe in hackers?”
He wasn’t loud anymore. He was back to my usual calm tone.
But Lios was clearly angry.
“Why don’t you study the history of the Internet in your current school lessons? What happened in 2005?”
I was full of answers. That is… I was learning them. In modern history, we learned the history of the Internet by dividing it into two parts, before Pluto’s Kiss and after Pluto’s Kiss.
“The network society ended due to the network crisis caused by the Pluto’s Kiss virus. You must have experienced it. The economy, humans and the relationships between all things were deprived of the optical infrastructure of networks. There was initial turmoil and uncontrollable delays to daily activity. Billions of tragic comedies played a concerto. It was a ten-year old boy who created the malicious virus that destroyed the existing core software and security, and shook the human race with the crisis of a nuclear war. Four years later… Kite. He’s the same age as you. Pluto’s Kiss is said to have held back technological innovations for 20 years.”
Lios continued, like a teacher standing in front of a podium.
“It’s not just Pluto’s Kiss. The history of the Internet is the history of hackers’ follies. The number of troubles caused by the self-centered hackers who come to mind is as numerous as the stars. Even if I make a chronological table and list it all, there isn’t enough space to list it all. I told you to believe in Helba. Helba is a hacker. Do you lot know how much you’re losing for someone like Helba right now?”
We couldn’t even reply.
“You saw Net Slum. I think that irregular city is damaging The World. The existence of that city simply puts an unreasonable load on the server and continues to cause great damage to our company. You can’t imagine how much the average person would have to work to earn the amount the company makes. Hackers unjustly steal money like it’s just breathing to them. That is not all. That town hides a lot of hackers. It is a hotbed of crime. There is also a rumor that it is a base for money laundering,” the voice of Lios echoed.
“You told me to set aside my pride. If anything goes wrong, I’ll give you as much as you like. Alright, listen carefully. I take pride in the task of system administration. This is not just me. All employees at CC are proud of their system managers, debuggers, graphic designers, programmers, game designers, public relations, general affairs, and human resources. I’m proud to be working for the world’s best game – The World. For users who enjoy “The World”, I would do any job. I would do even the toughest overtime.”
Lios’ voice changed only slightly.
“But, do you guys, the users, believe that hacker? Is that what you tell me?”
Lios closed his mouth there. We had no words. There was some sort of sadness at the bottom of Lios‘ words. However, there was silence for a moment. Lios opened his mouth again.
“There’s no helping it. I will carry out your punishment. I will impose the penalty!”
Penalty? I stood on guard reflexively. But nothing happened. Not to me anyway. Instead, BlackRose screamed. Balmung also called out in surprise. Their bodies began to take on the effect of being under a special spell attack.
“Kite, we can’t interfere directly with you while you have the bracelet. But there are many ways to block your movements,” Lios said.
“I have lowered your friends to level one. Moreover, no matter how many battles you win in the future, their level will not improve. Experience points will never accumulate.”
What was that? What a terrible thing to do.
“You are not strong enough to do something alone. To block your movements, I will lower the level of your companions. That is all.”
“You’re foul!”
BlackRose returned to us, screaming, but Lios just laughed. It was a dry way of laughing that could be taken as self-derision.
“That’s right. Foul, isn’t it? This is the adult way of doing things. To protect this world, we are always being subjected to a barrage of criticism. If you don’t rely on these means, you won’t last long.”
He changed his tone and said in a low voice.
“BlackRose. Balmung. I want you to think that it was at least a kindness that I didn’t delete you. Kite, let me tell you in advance. If you invite another player to form a party, they will be penalized with the same penalty!”
“No! That’s…” yelled BlackRose.
“From now on, you may not party with others without our permission. Understand? That’s all. Dismissed!”
.hack//Translate 