Walking through the dark underpass of the shelter, reliant on the glow of the lights, Philrain uttered a disheartening voice.
"Access point…? Does such a thing really exist in the basement of the shelter?"
While walking straight through the darkness, Raffi answered without looking back.
"There never was a shelter structure in this world. The decaying forests, the deserts, they all 'didn't exist'… but at some point in time, those that had originally existed were replaced by these. The memories of you M.O.R.S. patients were also rewritten gradually. By the 'Apocrypha Virus'."
"…"
Philrain, who had fallen silent, was shaking slightly. Alice squeezed her hand tightly.
"But the root should have remained the same. I assume that the structure that the shelter is based on is the data center that our support system used. If so, there is an access point in the basement that allows us to communicate with the outside world."
"… Why didn't you tell that to us before…?"
Jack asked in a strained tone. Raffi was silent briefly, then cast a sideways glance up at him.
"It's because… that is dangerous. Sending the information to the outside world using the access point would certainly be extracted by Charlot. No SOS would be transmitted. Besides…"
Raffi kept his mouth shut for a moment and then faced Alice.
"As I explained before leaving, the only thing my current administrative authority allows me to do is to send information to the outside world. I can't receive information. Therefore, to be honest, I have no idea what will happen to M.O.R.S. if I send the information. But if… Charlo is on this side, I think it's possible to gain access to someone now."
"…"
After hearing that, Alice stopped behind Raffi, who had halted, supported by Philrain. At the end of the underground passage, there was an unnatural iron door. With no keyhole anywhere, the rusted door was reminiscent of a prison and was clearly foreign.
"So this is it."
Raffi said and put his cat's hand on the iron door. There was an electronic beeping sound, and a rough mechanical voice sounded from the door.
"Administrative privileges confirmed, Number 25. Program integrity verification. Collating the verification."
"Someone's… talking…?"
Philrain seemed frightened, but Raffi quietly replied.
"It's an auxiliary AI in the management system. It's not alive, but it still seems to be working."
"Cross-check complete. Confirmed as support system, code 20056. Please operate."
"All internal locks released. I want to send compressed data to the terminal currently connected to M.O.R.S."
"Please wait a moment."
The management system said after making a sandstorm-like sound.
"We have found a currently active line at the connected terminal. Requesting access."
"Requesting access…?"
When Jack said curiously, Raffi nodded and continued.
"It seems that there is something going on at the 'outside'. They're attempting to obtain information about us from the outside."
"W-What are we supposed to do…?"
As soon as Philrain said this in a strained voice, Raffi's body began to glow white.
"I'm going to replace all of my own configuration information with the transfer data and go 'outside'. I think this will allow me to support you guys from the outside."
"Wait…!"
Philrain spoke up there.
"That's… you mean…"
"Oh. This is where we part ways. Here, I will replace the existence of "me" and write myself as a piece of information in the external memory. We will never meet each other again in this world."
"Raffi…"
At the side of Philrain, who was at a loss for words, Jack was about to say something but held his tongue. Alice stepped forward to look at Raffi, whose light was gradually intensifying. Then she reached out and gently stroked Raffi's cheek.
"… Alice…?"
Alice opened her mouth to Raffi, who murmured curiously.
"I am not the Alice you wish for, but…"
"…"
"I'm sorry I got angry with you. You have always been there for me. Although I don't know how much pain you've been through, I'll tell you what you hope to hear for as the Alice that you wish to meet again."
"…."
"Have a good day."
From Raffi's cat eyes, tears streamed down… He glanced up at Alice and opened his mouth…
But a second later, fresh black blood splattered in front of Alice's eyes.
◇
Alice couldn't instantly discern what had just taken place. The absence of water and solid substances due to the lack of "meal" caused her to be exhausted. And the fear that the Duchess had instilled in her had drained her of her physical and mental strength.
Therefore, she couldn't immediately grasp the "reality" of Raffi's body being severed in front of her eyes with some kind of sharp blade, and falling to the ground with a thud, spraying blood.
The same applied to Jack. However, when he judged that there was an "attack", his movement was instantaneous and quick. Before Jack even assessed what had occurred, he reflexively pulled out his Dáinsleif and intercepted the "slash" with his sword.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three strikes.
Four strikes.
The pale light was caught by the Dáinsleif, and it burst. It took only two brief breaths. Jack let out a yell and swept the Dáinsleif wide in a horizontal motion. Another pale light arose, and the slash of the Dáinsleif was brought to a halt by the light.
At last, Alice's consciousness had caught up with the reality. It was a lethal gap. That was an oscillation that ought not to have been present.
"Raffi!" Alice screamed.
There was a white slash… coming at her neck. It was swifter than Jack's Dáinsleif and Alice's neck was nearly split in two.
In Alice's eyes, she saw Philrain shoving her away.