Ceres just sat on her bed and quietly watched Erta who was busily drawing a magic circle and some alien runes in the air with her holy flame.
At the centre of the magic circle was the simulacrum core floating in midair through her mana. After a few more runes were written, Erta chanted quietly while pouring her mana into the magic circle.
The flames flashed a bright gold before encroaching onto the core. Once the core was covered in flames, a strand of golden flames crept out from it as though burning an invisible thread.
[Cal, the spell has begun. The flames should flow through the mana connection between the core and the server. Once you see it, just follow it. I'll have to stay here to sustain the spell so you're on your own. Be careful of enemies protecting the server.]
Caelum continued hunting the simulacrum in the city while following the golden flame which was moving steadily toward their target. Meanwhile, Erta noticed Ceres's gaze and turned to her. She smiled at her only for Ceres to look away. Erta sighed and decided to talk to her.
"I know you're angry at me. And I'm sorry. I know my mistakes. I dragged your brother away and made him share my burdens, but I can't help it. You might not accept it, but it was destiny. And I truly love him."
"Why... does it have to be my brother? Why does he have to be the one to risk his life again?"
"Because that is what your world has decided on. And that is what he accepted. Believe me, if I were just an ordinary girl, I would throw away my world for him. I'd even take him far away from the dangers of your world. But I can't. Both of us exist to protect our worlds. And perhaps it's fate as well that us two who had been lost and isolated found each other."
At this point, Erta was no longer looking at Ceres. Her eyes were filled with fear as a single tear streaked down her cheek.
She could still clearly remember the hell she saw from Caelum's memory. Compared to her own life, she felt more pained when she realised how much Caelum had lost in that place. His memories, his time, his life.
"I swear I'll save you from that place."
She whispered to herself once again, reaffirming her resolve. It was weak, but Ceres certainly heard it amidst the silence in the room.
And she finally realised just how much she did not know and understand about her own brother and Erta. Her hostility toward Erta immediately vanished, replaced by dawning uncertainty and anxiety.
She was powerless and afraid. No matter how much she wanted to understand her brother, she would always be too far away to grasp it. She could already see it, a time in the near future when he would leave her and never come back.
No matter how it may seem to others, Ceres could tell with certainty. She knew that Caelum Grace was too great for Earth alone. He was not meant to be shackled to this little world. Was this what it meant to be powerful? How lonely it is.
"Please take care of my brother."
"I will, but you don't have to worry. No one will take your brother away from you. No matter what, you are still his family. And that means you are my family too. So I'll take care of you too… Sister."
Ceres just nodded quietly. Erta smiled, content with their progress. She returned her attention to her spell. It was at that moment that Caelum's voice echoed in her mind.
[Erta, why didn't you tell me that the server is also a robot?]
[Of course, it's a robot. What did you think it would be?]
[I don't know! Maybe a simple computer that wouldn't be shooting lasers at me?!]
"What?!"
Erta's shock made her yell out, even frightening Ceres. Caelum, however, was too busy dodging the attacks from the server to even mind her.
He had followed the spell for a few minutes while killing the simulacra near him. But when he thought everything was going smoothly, the golden flame of the spell suddenly changed directions.
After a few more wild turns, it brought him all the way back to Sylven's ruins. By now, the reconstruction effort should be underway. However, the area he was in was surprisingly devoid of any humans.
Instead, there was a large humanoid robot made of dark metal. Its head was shaped like a cross with an orb at the centre glowing an alarming red.
The golden flame seemed to be headed directly toward the glowing orb, but the robot brought one of its metallic arms forward and cut the flame apart. Then another of its arms stretched forward and transformed into a large barrel of a gun and began shooting at him.
[Cal, what do you mean?! Is the server moving on its own?!]
[It is! It just destroyed your spell and now it's shooting at me!]
[There's never been a server that moves on its own before! Be careful, Cal! Hold on until I get there!]
[No! You stay there to protect everyone! We don't know if there are other simulacrum around!]
Erta looked at Ceres who was watching her with a confused look on her face. Erta wanted to help Caelum, but she knew that he was correct.
Closing her eyes, she released a wave of mana around her which spread outward in a large area. She had already made a decision. While preparing for a large-scale spell, she replied to Caelum.
[Fine. Don't worry and just focus on the enemy.]
Caelum did not speak anymore. With Erta protecting the city, he could pour all his attention to the enemy in front of him.
He jumped several meters into the air and burst out with his wings and Eternal Flame. The server turned its head as it locked onto Caelum's position. The orb on its head began glowing brightly again as it gathered mana toward it.
Caelum sensed the power it was about to unleash, but he decided to face it head on. He wrapped his wings around his arms and crossed them under him as he fell directly toward the server. His Eternal Flame was burning brightly as it provided an additional layer of defence.
When there was just about four meters between them, the server shot out a beam of red light from its orb.
The beam hit the white golden flame which shaved off some of its power before being able to strike the two wings. Caelum felt the impact as he was blown to the side.
As he landed, his wings uncoiled themselves from his arms to reveal a whip and spear in his hands.
"Time for round two, tin can!"
Caelum dashed forward while coating his weapons with Eternal Flame. The server had just ended its attack and was just preparing to lock onto him again.
Caelum did not give it a chance as he flapped his wings backward, slamming them with great force and combusting them with the Eternal Flame to propel him forward like a meteor.
The server produced two more arms behind it which transformed into thick shields. With his great speed, Caelum thrust Gungnir at the shields and broke them like glass. The Eternal Flame showed its dominance against metal even here as it easily melted the alien metal that made up the robot.
With the shields gone, his whip came flying in and coiled around the server's gun and tore it off. With its weapons gone, the server was no longer a threat to Caelum. Although he expended quite a bit more of his energy than he expected, he would be able to end the battle with this.
"Damned robot. I don't know what kind of metal you're made of, but I'll be sure to make good use of you."
Even as he was speaking, his mind had already cooled down greatly. It was as though no warm blood coursed through his veins and pumped into his head. But his mind could not be any clearer and sharper.
He seldom did this as he wanted to experience the world through a more fresh and natural perspective, but he felt that this robot was studying him with every movement perhaps ever since he fought the bulimeus in Sylven Cathedral.
If that was truly the case, then he could not allow himself to be limited to routine actions and mannerisms of his combat style. He had to move with cold precision and logic much like the machine he was fighting.
[Do not be mistaken, human. You have not won yet.]
A deep mechanical voice rang out from the server as it did something unexpected. The head detached itself and flew up quickly. Caelum was surprised and was not able to react right away when the body suddenly emitted intense unstable waves of mana.
He was barely able to jump back while covering his body with his wings before the robot's body exploded. A huge crater was all that was left after the explosion.
Caelum felt cold sweat dripping from his neck and back as he looked at the head floating in midair several meters above the crater.
[Impressive reaction. I think I will keep you alive after all. You are the only human I find to be entertaining in this dull world.]
"Who are you?"
[Do not be impudent. You are just a lowly human. Do not think that you have the qualifications to ask anything of an advanced being such as I. However, since you have entertained me well today, I shall leave you with a hint. I am a Cephalon. The alf you keep will know. Now I shall take my lea-]
Before it could finish speaking, a streak of golden silver flashed and crushed the robot's head within it. The glowing red orb was also melted, releasing the condensed mana within it along with a strange presence that was not quite dissimilar to mana, but not similar either.
Everything about the server's core was devoured by Caelum's colourless wing. It pulsed wildly from the rampant mana and the strange presence he had devoured, but there was nothing to worry about. In the face of Serenity, all will return to tranquility.
"Did you think I wouldn't be able to reach you? For an advanced being, you sure are stupid. Thanks for the info though."
[Assimilation complete. Resuming awakening process. Current progress: 74.2%]
[Cephalon fragment detected. Beginning assimilation… Assimilation complete.]
[Resuming awakening process. Current progress: 99.9%]
[Creating new Cephalon...]
"...What?"