[Analyzing completion...]
[Acceptable]
[Completion: S grade]
[Reward: Scorched Girl (Synchronization Skill)]
[Something inside of you resonates with the match girl's immolation. Justice +5.]
Asher looked around, finding himself on the rooftop with Finn. The boy intently listened to the conversation between Yan and that man, unaware of Asher's gaze.
[Next Punishment: Fragment of the Universe]
'Well, let's look at the rewards first, because I already know what Yan is saying to that man.'
He furrowed his brow. This time, he did not get a new E.G.O gear but a Synchronization skill.
Then he looked at the words below it.
'Something inside me resonates with her death? What the hell, no way! It was absolutely terrible!'
[Your soul produced a negative emotion when faced with that scenario. It negatively resonated with your morals, increasing your Justice stat. Remember, Justice has nothing to do with good or evil, merely the strength of one's morals.]
'And I remember that when you described Justice, you said that I needed it for Synchronization skills? Like the one I just got?'
[Yes.]
'...Alright, let's see what it is, then.'
[Scorched Girl: Synchronize with the Scorched Girl, accessing her skills and transforming into her appearance. Justice must be 10+ to use. Currently, there is only one skill available.]
[Bystander: Lower your presence, making it harder for other people to detect you. Success depends on Insight level compared to the target's. Only works out of combat. Can be used freely for one hour every day.]
"..." Even though Asher could see the use of that skill, it wouldn't help him at all in his current predicament.
Sayako definitely had more Insight than him, and-
'Why do I have to transform into her appearance as well?!'
[It is a Synchronization skill.] Asher felt like the System was getting tired of explaining to him, so he stopped complaining. Any reward was better than nothing, and the System was the one handing out the rewards.
Asher couldn't think of any way to use his new skills to help him survive Sayako's encounter, and didn't have the [Frenzy] skill off cooldown yet, so he began to think of an alternative plan.
"Hey Finn, who are the people above the Messengers in the Index? The Proxies?" He remembered the boy's words last timeline, in which it was revealed that the Messengers were the second strongest in the Index, only below the Proxies.
"Mhm~ Alright, we can climb down now." Finn put away his listening device as he leapt off the building.
Asher's plan was slowly forming in his mind as his feet touched the ground.
'Should be right about now...'
"So you two were the eavesdroppers." It was Yan, as he predicted. This time, he didn't react at all.
"It's Yan, right? Nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand for a handshake.
She raised her eyebrow curiously, surprised by Asher's nonchalant reaction.
"A-Asher? You know her name!?" Finn backed away, dumbfounded. Was Asher a member of the Index?
She shook his hand lightly. Her small hands were noticeably smaller than his, and they were incredibly cold and soft. Asher blushed slightly as she laced her fingers with his, locking eyes with him in an expressionless gaze.
"Nice to meet you too, stranger. Anything you want to say?"
"I- Um... So an Urban Plague Syndicate is going to come soon, so is it possible if I-"
"You want me to stop them? I did not receive such a Prescript." Yan tilted her head, her eyes still closed shut. Asher couldn't tell what was going on in her head. It was like trying to read the emotions of a lifeless, stale bagel.
"No, no, can I... pretend to be a Proxy? They shouldn't attack if they think I'm stronger than them, right?"
Finn yelped, skittering backwards, like he just witnessed a hate crime.
"Asher, t-that's going way too far!"
Yan opened her eyes, revealing her clear blue pupils. Asher thought he saw her smile, but he dismissed the idea quickly.
"Sure, if you can convince them; not that you even could in your state. It sounds interesting, though."
He thought of anything that would work. Even if he failed again, it would only mean he would have to do another punishment mission, and so far he hadn't received any he failed to complete.
"Oh, they are here as you predicted." She closed her eyes again, almost immediately losing interest after the newcomers arrived.
Asher's eyes focused as Sayako and her four men walked towards them.
His entire plan hinged on one thing.
Which was a more dramatic transformation, his E.G.O or his new skill? He was betting that it would be the Synchronization.
"Ara~ such a young Messenger, and here of all places? Are these little boys your Proselytes?" The woman narrowed her eyes at Yan, her tone deceptively sweet.
"No, this person," Yan bowed to Asher, "is one of our Proxies."
Sweat beaded down Asher's forehead. This such was a bad idea. How could anyone believe him when he looked like a child?
"Pfft! Hahaha, this boy, a Proxy? Is he your brother or something, is that why you're trying to protect him so much?"
Yan bowed her head and took a step back.
"Then I will let him explain it to you himself."
Asher looked at Yan, confused, but he only saw her mouth tilt upwards in a fleeting smile. She seemed to be enjoying his plight.
'God dammit...' Asher gulped audibly as Sayako approached him, causing the woman to giggle.
"Hehe, you don't have to lie, now. Are you a Proxy, or just a cute little boy~?" Sayako hugged his arm, squeezing it between her breasts.
Asher's face turned pink, but he soon calmed himself.
'Alright, alright. It's time!'
He psyched himself up with a mental pep talk.
"...You speak boldly for someone so weak." Asher's eyes glazed over like he was possessed, while he spoke in a monotone voice. His blush had disappeared, so suddenly that Sayako couldn't help but do a double take.
'Now! [Synchronize: Scorched Girl]!'
"Eh? What's this?" Sayako looked at her hands, which were now covered in black soot. Looking back at Asher, she nearly yelped aloud like Finn did.
The four men also stepped back, nearly drawing their swords, but they stopped at the last second. If that thing truly was a Proxy, the moment they drew their swords would be the moment of their deaths.
His features and figure turned feminine, as streaks of pitch black ash coated his body. A silky white dress replaced his clothes, also smudged with soot.
His, no, her cobalt blue eyes pulsed slowly as they leaked out painful crimson tears, its bloody path downward only highlighting the unsettling beauty of her pale face, which was not tainted by ash.
"Now then, that disguise took quite a toll." Asher attempted to keep his voice monotone, but found that he didn't even have to try. He felt an unbearable sadness and pain that he even had to force himself to speak, let alone use emotion in his voice.
Was this what the girl felt before she died? So this is the difference between Synchronization and E.G.O...
'And my voice is a girl's too. Am I considered male or female??' In order to not confuse himself, Asher considered himself a boy, even when in this state.
Sayako shivered at the doll-like beauty of the girl, who looked like an broken figurine. Burnt and abandoned, but still so exquisitely beautiful.
"W-Who are you?"
"I am a Proxy of the Index." Asher looked at Yan, who was covering her mouth to hide her smile.
"It can't be. There are only three Proxies in each Section! You are not a Proxy of Section 12, you're not even wearing their uniform!"
"...The Prescripts have willed it all. There shall be four."
Asher almost grinned. He knew so little about the Index, but even he knew the importance they placed on Prescripts. Sayako would surely know as well.
"..." Sayako weighed the options in her mind. Even if the charred girl wasn't a Proxy, and even if the Fixer quivering in the corner was incredibly weak (he was), the white-haired one was certainly a Messenger because of the gold-hooped cloak on her shoulders, the universal uniform of the Index.
Even if she could deal with the Messenger, she wasn't sure whether her companions could deal with that mysterious charred girl.
Little did she know, she was massively underestimating both of them. But that was already enough for her to make a decision.
"We're leaving, men." She turned her back on Asher, confident that although she might not be able to defeat the three, they would not attack her, either. The five Kurokumo walked out of the alley, leaving Asher, Finn, and Yan behind.
"Asher... Is that your actual name?" Yan took her hand away from her mouth, revealing an impassive face.
"Oh, yeah, it is. This is just a - particular skill of mine." Asher dusted the powder off his hands, but did not change to his original form yet.
Finn was in his own world, not even paying attention to the conversation.
"Can I touch your body?" Yan placed her hands together, and along with her closed eyes, it looked like she was praying.
*Cough Cough*
"E-Excuse me, what?!" As Asher sputtered incoherently, even Finn was woken from his stupor, staring at Yan incredulously
It turned out Yan's question was rhetorical as she patted down Asher's new body before he could even respond.
She pinched his cheeks, patted his thigh, caressed his breas-
'C-[Cancel]!'
"Yan! What the-!"
"This isn't a skill of yours. You were a real female just now."
Before he could explain, she leaned forward and whispered, tickling his ear with her breath.
"But... that was interesting, so you don't have to tell me your secrets just yet." Yan stepped back, quietly observing Asher's pink blush.
"You're a strange person, Asher. See you around sometime." Yan smirked, then leisurely strolled away.
Finn poked Asher, breaking him out of his trance.
"Hey, hey, care to explain any of this??"
The poor boy was so lost in the conversation, he had absolutely no idea what just happened.