Chapter 58: Devil Program
High in the air, I faced the other Partner as she balanced on her Wind Fire Wheels. Her face was sheet white.
[Nori, I can sense the other AI now. She's a Devil Program!] 37 said urgently.
A bit confused over the part of 'Devil Program' though the name seemed kind of self-explanatory, I still kept my focus and pushed the questions to the side (for now). After all, Jiayin was still outlined in red; the duel hadn't ended yet.
'Thirty-Seven, shoot one of those seeds Ing gave us weeks ago at her.'
Reading about it was not as impressive as witnessing it in person, I admit.
Wild vines burst out violently as soon as it touched the shield, entangling Jiayin with the energy it siphoned from the forcefield.
Another one is shot right after another, wrapping around the magic wheels and snuffing out its fires.
There was an appearance of the girl floating for a moment before she and the wheels were reeled in by the pull of Gaellia's gravity. Jiayin free falls and I followed in <Flight.>
*Crash! Crack!*
The other Partner landed roughly, bouncing off the edge of the abandoned church's roof before landing in the street.
I used a <Breeze> to flip her over as my feet touched the ground, unsurprised to find her still alive. It was only a matter of course, considering her constitution was probably greater than mine. She hadn't really been wrong about my exclusive focus on magic—I had the advantage of already being an athlete when arriving in Gaellia so I was lazy and only maintained my physical stats rather than improved them.
(How could I resist the allure of magic, after all?)
What was slightly surprising was how easy it had been to catch her this time. Jiayin didn't even resist.
Oh, I spoke too early. Cringing at the words thrown out.
I felt our AIs communicating with each other, though I was fairly sure it was about as amicable as my own with Jiayin.
"This world deserves to burn in hell! Wicked evil people— I'm no longer weak! I will have my revenge! The Eastern Kingdoms will kill each other off like the dogs they are! This stupid City that lets sins continue on Gaellia will also be destroyed in the wake of destruction! I will win! I will win! Haha— Hahaha!"
My hands clenched into fists as the girl, the same age as those wide-eyed Freshies or even a senior in high school, laughed and laughed while tears poured from sightless eyes. I stay silent, an uncomfortable witness to her breakdown, until her desperate laughter morphed into strangled sobs.
With a bit of help from another <Breeze,> I got Jiayin to sit up and neatened her hair with another delicate manipulation of magic.
I squatted down next to her, looking into her hopeless expression. It was a familiar face I've had the misfortune to witness before, where the body was alive but the individual was broken and soul—dead.
"I'd give you a hug but I don't think you'd welcome physical contact," I admitted.
Not to mention the vines might feed off my own shield.
My voice seemed to knock Jiayin back to the present. She sniffled, her voice clogged with tears but still belligerent, "What do you know."
"Right, right, I know nothing," I smiled harmlessly as dark eyes pinned themselves on me, hands raised to emphasize me yielding to her words.
She turned away and was silent for a moment.
"… you're not wrong," she quietly muttered when I was beginning to think she was going to give me the silent treatment.
…
Call me heartless but I didn't have the time to let her gather herself. I went through this entire ordeal for a reason and I was not going to just set it aside just because Jiayin was a traumatized young woman.
"I really don't know anything, though. And I won. Will you tell me what I want to know now?"
"You'll have to kill me," was her reply.
"But I don't want to kill you," I returned just as quickly.
It was obvious Jiayin had been hurt. If I landed and was trapped by alves when I arrived on Gaellia, what about a pretty girl like her in the Eastern Kingdoms? Every time she yelled about being "strong," the only thing I heard was a desperate denial of being "weak." Self-blame over something I was completely sure was out of her control, if what I thought happened to her actually did.
I was unpleasantly jolted from my contemplation by 01. She had lost her form but apparently hadn't lost her ability to be heard.
"I wonder how a Neutral Program could possibly have a Partner that is Level 98 already but you're still weak-willed like all Neutral Partners must be. Unable to kill someone."
"Hey—" Just because someone did not kill did not mean they were weak you psychotic AI. (A part of me was also aware I had blood on my hands from Pearltower; I'm just more discriminatory on who I choose to kill. Whatever 01 thought of me… unblooded, I am not.)
"Thirty-Seven cannot even physically manifest! Proof that he is weak and would never win."
Oh.
Actually, if reaching Level 50 meant Programs could gain a physical form… Maybe it was the speed I jumped Levels? Either way, totally not proof of anything.
"If you do not kill us, you will regret it," 01 finished ominously, as if daring me to do so.
I was beginning to figure out why 01 was called a "Devil" Program now and that Jiayin was obviously a victim of both this world and her AI. 01's words were like poison, insidious and malicious; the girl had found herself in a Faustian contract that would ultimately lead her to her own destruction.
It just made me even more unwilling to help the eighteen-year-old victim commit suicide.
[I can do it.]
Stilling, I focused on my partner. My naive, well-meaning AI that was an angel compared to Jiayin's psycho partner.
'Are you sure, Thirty-Seven?'
[It is because of my bond with you that has dragged us into this situation. I will not let you take every burden, Nori. I must take responsibility for the damage my brethren caused.]
Low feminine laughter erupted. "Hahaha!" o1 seemed triumphant for having driven 37 to this precipice.
[… You are wrong. I will never become you. Goodbye, Program D-01.]
"W-what are you doi— NO!"
I exhaled, closing my eyes as 37 deleted the other AI from existence.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone