First things first, I sent Herode to the repair room.
Riv was still going to take the twitching Haiyan to the infirmary.
She said she happened to know where the infirmary was, so I left it to her.
Pakira was with her too.
That left just me and MASTER, alone together for a conversation.
Well, Agaro and the others were apparently down below the tower, fighting the Three Guardian Stars.
They'd definitely come once that was over, so the two of us ended up alone.
We started with a brief introduction to each other.
"I'm Wof."
"I'm MASTER."
Then MASTER let out a wry smile at the utter devastation of the top floor.
Looking at the Etrange still lodged in place, MASTER said with an exasperated look.
"So something like this was still left behind."
"You know about it?"
"—Long ago, I dealt with a similar ship. That's how I escaped from the surface, broke through the wall of the sky, and reached this ship."
I see.
"What about that ship now?"
"It broke when I arrived."
"Where is it?"
"The scrapyard... are you interested?"
"Well, sort of..."
Maybe there'd be parts there.
MASTER gives me a long look.
"Wof. What a peculiar organic life-form."
"Is that so?"
"But you—your Relics inside that soul vessel... no, they're all jumbled together."
"Huh?"
Jumbled? MASTER's eyes gleam gold from deep inside the hood.
"Your vessel is absurdly large for an organic life-form, so there's no real harm. But there's a lot of waste."
"Um... waste?"
Somehow, that stings.
"The power you've got is sitting stagnant."
"Wh-what should I do?"
"If I use my authority, I can convert the Relics you're hardly using into the power of your other Relics."
"R-really!?"
"But those Relics will be gone. What do you want to do?"
So they disappear if they become power.
But... if they become the power of other Relics...
"Please."
"Which Relics do you want to keep safe first?"
"I absolutely want to keep Danger Discernment, Circle of Fortune, Banish, and Generous. I'd also like to keep Vibrashion and Raev Move."
"So everything else can be sacrificed."
"Y-yes."
The others... let me think.
Then MASTER approached me, reached out her small arm, and placed her hand on my chest.
"Which Relic do you want to add it to?"
"Banish, please."
"If you do that, Banish's essence will change."
"It will!?"
The essence changes. So it can actually change.
"What do you want to do?"
"...Please do it."
"...Are you sure? Before that, are you sure you trust me?"
"Huh? Oh, now that you mention it..."
Why had I so readily and honestly believed her?
Was it because I was convinced she was a god?
"And don't you find it strange? How I can do something like this?"
"That too, yes."
Being able to add a Relic to another Relic.
That's impossible under normal circumstances. Absolutely impossible.
Who… what even are you?
"I am a god."
"Huh? What?"
A god? Ah, I figured as much.
"The god of skills."
"Skills…?"
"The gods possess a power called
an authority—
divine power. And what was built on that is
functions.
That's what they are. Relics are the power that allowed organic life forms to use skills."
"…So in other words, skills are the source of Relics?"
"You could say that. Which is why I can handle them. In the end, it's just the difference between a machine and a living being."
"I see."
So. Let me put this together.
Skills are what allowed
mechanical life forms
to wield the Deus of divine power.
And it was Relics that made it possible for organic life forms—that is, us—to use those skills.
So that's why I was able to use something like pseudo-divination.
Because the root of it is divine power.
Anyway, why is a god of skills hanging around in a place like this?
And during the Great War, she was opposed to the Chief God and Lady Yomid.
I feel like there's some dark stuff going on. Yeah. I'd rather not dig too deep into it.
I should avoid asking the Goddess of Knives and Lady Yomid about it, too.
"—Final confirmation. Are you sure about this?"
MASTER asked solemnly.
"Yes."
I nodded without hesitation.
To be honest, there's a Relic I haven't been using much.
I'd been vaguely uneasy about it.
The reason I stopped using it—sure, part of it was simply that I didn't need it as much.
But the biggest reason was that I'd forgotten.
Right, I'd forgotten. I forgot to use it at moments when it would've been effective, so it just sat there unused.
Even if it stayed with me like this, I probably wouldn't use it much going forward.
And then there's [Banish]—it's still not strong enough, after all.
If I can become stronger through this, there's nothing to hesitate about.
Also, regarding the "Cycle" of the essence… I had some thoughts about that.
No, it's—well, you know. It's awkward to use. The reach did get longer than the sphere, that's true.
Even so, even though I got it, I don't feel confident using the Banish Chakram well.
Those kinds of weapons are special by nature, after all.
And there's that. I like swords and such, but chakrams aren't really my thing.
Yeah. I figured out while using it that chakrams just aren't my preferred weapon.
Well, the biggest shock was being told it was all cluttered and full of wasted movement.
Being told my inner workings are cluttered and wasteful... honestly, that doesn't feel great.
She straight-up told me my heart was dirty.
—Then let's begin. Deus, Selection and Harmonia, activate!
Something flowed from her palms into the depths of my being.
Thud... there were two feelings of loss.
I immediately knew they were my Relics — Knife Magic and Blue Saint.
I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry I couldn't use you well.
And after the sense of loss, I felt a tremendous power.
Ah, it's Banish.
Not the Banish I've had until now.
I can tell. I can really tell. I can tell.
There's a completely new Banish inside me.
—Hm? Wh-what? Wh-what is this...
Master suddenly stumbled over her words. Cute. No, that's not—
—Did something happen?
"Wof. I can't believe it, but inside your soul..."
"Inside my soul...?"
What is it. What's supposed to be in there?
Master spoke as though frightened.
"There's a party going on inside your soul."
"......Huh?"
"A party."
...What?