"All of them?" I asked as composed as I can.

Bianca nodded, "Thought it was a pity that only one of them had adapted to the Nightstrider Animata, we can conclude that based on the Model we gathered from Kiara, we are closer to reaching the truth," she said objectively, devoid of guilt, "If only we could dissect Kiara and study her more, surely we could reach a new understanding in The Blossoming," she continued.

I clenched my fist and hid it inside my pocket, before asking, "Why would you think that, Bianca?"

"You see, Bianca thinks that Kiara was the rare occurrence of co-existence between Anima and Humans, creating a God-like creature called Malice. If we could extract her Animata…"

Malice...? It rang a bell inside my head, trying to dissolve the fog inside my head. But the more I tried to, the more my head hurts. I stopped trying and asked before Bianca got suspicious,

"Is Nightstrider Animata not enough?" I intimidated her.

Bianca's eyes widened as she hastily retract her words, "N-No, I don't mean to offend you, Pater. It was a great feat that we managed to get the finger of The Nightstrider, the first Malice in the world. Even though the data we could extract from its finger is limited, it leads to many breakthroughs for our research," she paused a bit looking at me for validation, before continuing,

"But objectively speaking, as a researcher, if we could have the whole body composition of a Malice, I couldn't imagine what it would bring us. Probably, we could finally achieve our greatest goal! Sadly, that Kiara got away again."

Oh, so Kiara saved herself? She was surprisingly capable!

I was too afraid to ask more because it'd raise suspicion. So, I'd try to connect the picture for now. The Nightstrider, as Bianca said, is the ultimate integration between Anima and Human, a Malice. It was powerful enough to fight the gods equally. However, who managed to create such a powerful being? And if it was true, then how powerful is this "Pater" they so referred to?

I chuckled, "Heh, our greatest goal or yours? Bianca, remind me what the purpose of White Order is."

Her face turned pale, "Y-yes. To reach blue sky and create a world free of Anima. ."

… Ugh? My head's hurt. It tried to open a crack in my head in vain.

"Had you disposed of the subject yet?" I asked.

"N-No, not yet. Do you want to inspect it too, Pater? It's too dangerous. Even though it's weakened by the Yggdrasil, it's still an aspect of Nightstrider. So I'd recommend you to—" Bianca warned me.

"Bring me there," I commanded her. My instinct told me, if I just meet the subject I would remember something.

Bianca hesitated a bit before bowing, "Y-Yes, Pater!"

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Using Bianca's Magicard, she brought me to an elevator in which we delved even deeper. As the cold crept into our bones, we arrived at the wide space, covered with nothing but white paint. At the center lay the monster, chained with spears of darkness, grunting in pain.

"When we assimilate The Nightstrider Animata to him, at first his body rejected it violently. However, since we modified the Animata according to the data we extracted from the Blood Witch, for a moment we could suppress the proliferation of Anima cells. At that flickering moment, we knew, he was conscious. He was a Malice for a second," Bianca explained.

The look in Anima's eyes mirrored the suffering it had been through. My heart shattered when I knew that all of his sufferings were for delusion… It was all for nothing!

"Give me a sword," I ordered.

"W-Wait, Pater! Are you going to kill it? No, you don't have to stain your hand like that. Allow me to—"

"Just give me the fucking sword!" I shouted.

Scared, Bianca summoned from her shadow a fancy sword for me. Quickly unsheathed it, I rushed for a powerful thrust into his chest, destroying the magicite inside the Malice. Slowly, his body was dispersed into a red butterfly before turning into dust. As the spear fell, I sheathed my sword.

"This just foolishness," I muttered.

"You realize, Pater...?" Bianca asked.

I watch as Bianca's face contorts with fear and confusion. But then, She suddenly kneeled over me and said,

"F-Forgive me, Pater. I-I didn't mean to deceive you. Yes, it was just an Anima I modified with Machinization. I-it's just… I can't let those children die. Not Anymore!"

E-Eh? Wait, I thought I just blew up my cover. She still believed me as Pater? Geez, this girl is too naive. Or perhaps, this is how powerful the dogma implanted in her mind.

Clearing my throat, I asked her menacingly, "Explain yourself, Thundering Pulse."

"P-Pater, I raised the children for years. Even though they were just a pawn for our ultimate plan, seeing their laugh and joy filled my heart with happiness," she stammers, clutching her chest and trying to suppress her fear, "That's why, when you asked me to kill my own family, my beloved, my children… I can't do that. Even if it was your direct order."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy with magic. The tingling sensation burnt my skin, leaving a wound that did not regenerate. Wait, what?

Now that I realize it, I can't control my blood again. I can't change my appearance or heal my wound. This is not good. Something is clearly wrong here.

I looked around to realize that they used a special layer to cover the walls. It was made by Astral Ice, designed to subdue a god like me. I clenched my fist, facing the grim Bianca. Dammit, that girl... lured me here.

"Do you remember, Pater? When we first met, you asked me, what is the meaning of my life," Bianca said, summoning her humanoid body and going inside its head, "Now, I'm ready to give you my answer."

Without hesitation, she lunged and tried to impale me with her lightning spear! U-ugh! S-She caught me off, guard! Her spear managed to cut through my waist before she landed another combo on me. Parrying most of her torrent, I stepped back and tried to stop the bleeding.

I shouted, "Are you fricking nuts?"

"Nuts you say? Have any of your experiments bore any fruit? None, right? That's right, I always questioned everything you had told me. Your Dogma, your Magnum Opus, no matter how righteous it is, it doesn't justify you to sacrifice innocent life. You are the crazy one, Pater!" Bianca slam her spear to the ground, calling for pillars of thunder to storm me. Luckily, I managed to dodge them.

The witch let out a bitter laugh that echoed through the empty room. "This is my answer," she said, her voice dripping with desperation,

"Even if it was meaningless, I'd do everything to protect people that I love. I will stop you, Pater!"

Her eyes blazed with a mix of fear and anger, fueled by years of grudges and confusion. The Seed of Hero began to thrive in her conviction. It was beginning to etch its sword mark in her eyes. Even though she clearly misdirected her anger towards me, if she became a Hero... She could easily kill me in this state.

I don't have any choice but to face her with everything I had. I swung my blade and shouted,

"Come, Bianca!"