Chapter 19

"... didn't I ask you two to report to Historie?"

"You did, but.... We want to help Nep-Nep because she is our friend."

If there was one thing that Vali got annoyed by, it would be whenever someone pulled something unexpected out of their asses on him. Though to be fair it also depended on a case by case basis, since if his girls were to try and surprise him with some good food or something he wouldn't be too bothered. On the contrary, he would be quite happy, and would find some way to repay them for their troubles. He didn't like owing debts after all.

Right now however, he DEFINITELY felt annoyance for the current situation he was in.

Standing with him in the Airship's command bridge were the Planeptune residents IF and Compa, who had deemed it necessary to come with him onto his Ship for whatever reason. Compa had already stated her reasoning to do with Nepgear as much as it vexed him, but IF he had thought would have just gone on her own way instead of pestering him like this. Fortunately, Alpha and the girls had retreated to their own guest rooms for the duration of the trip to Lowee, so they didn't have to bother with this. He had heard from Luxon that Alexia had gone to one of the training facilities, which had given him the urge to go join her since it had been a while since they had last sparred.

But for now, he had this mess to sort out.

"..... and what's your reason why you're here also?"

"Same reason as Compa. Don't worry, I already went and reported the situation to Lady Historie, and she told us to go with you because who knows if Nepgear could get kidnapped again."

".... tell me, does this look like she is going to get kidnapped?"

SNAP!

With a snap of Vali's middle finger and thumb, instant activity began to happen around him. The walls of the Airship pulled out turrets, rocket launchers, and various robots ready for combat. All the while, Vali gave a deadpanned look towards the rather sheepish looking IF and Compa as they had an 'o' face.

"..... point taken….. Wait is this... Nepgear's lost item?"

Vali hummed in confirmation, once again clicking his fingers which resulted in everything returning to how it had been before he had literally 'pulled out the big guns' on their asses. "Yes, it is. Luxon said he was created by a CPU named Purple sister. Judging by your reactions, I'm guessing that's another name for her, isn't it?"

IF nodded her head at this, calming down from the surprise of all the stuff that got pulled out by Vali's command. "It is. You know when you found Nepgear's item that she lost, she had wanted to thank the person who found it. Turned out that person was you… she also mentioned once time how she had wanted to see if she could build another one so that she can keep the original."

"... I see, then how come she didn't get the chance if she did?"

"Well... first is the secret we told you about. We didn't trust you at that time. Second was that she was a bit too shy and couldn't be outside all the time."

"Uh huh."

Compa then jumped back into the conversation as a question she really wanted to ask left her mouth. "Speaking of Ge-Ge, how is she?"

"... it's best to see it for yourself."

With that said, Vali turned on his heels and walked out of the Command Bridge, with IF and Compa glancing at one another before following him too. The trio then journeyed throughout the Airship as it traveled along its journey, heading towards the medical facility section.

As they arrived in a hospital logo before he opened it. There lying down on the table was Nepgear, lying in the middle of many different medical tools that Luxon had prepared for surgery. She has a breathing mask support and a heart monitor next to her.

"Ge-Ge….."

"Nepgear….."

Vali crossed his arms as he looked down at the unconscious CPU Candidate before he looked up to the ceiling whilst anxious expressions formed over the two… well, he could call them stowaways or uninvited guests, it wouldn't change that he didn't appreciate the lack of informing him beforehand. "Luxon, status report."

"I have managed to make progress on my creator by surgery, fixing her body, giving it nourishment, and making her stabilize. However, I have limited knowledge on her Share Energy, which is why I require assistance from the Oracle of Lowee."

"I understand.... How long until we reach there?"

"Calculating.... Three days until we reach our destination master."

"Good, tell us when we reach our destination."

"Acknowledged, please leave the room while I continue to make sure my creator is stabilized."

"Alright, let's go you two."

Seeing as there was nothing they could do at the moment, Vali exited the room with Compa and IF following him. The door then closed behind them, being an automatic one, whilst the trio continued walking through the ship.

Whilst they did so, Compa then asked. "Is she going to be fine?" in a worried tone, the sight of her friend in such a state not being something which she'd say she had ever wanted to see.

Once he heard that question however, Vali rolled his eyes whilst suppressing the urge to smack the idiot over the back of her head. "Didn't you hear Luxon, woman? He managed to make some progress but we need someone who is an expert on Share energy and that's why I'm heading to Lowee, to not only find the oracle but get the CPU candidates as well." he told her, a bit of edge to his tone.

An edge which the girl quickly took notice of if the way she cowered a bit was any indication… the sharpness of his gaze didn't help either. "O-ok Vali."

Turning his gaze away from the syringe wielder, Vali then glanced over to IF. "Speaking of the candidates, do you know who the candidate of Lowee is?" he queried, his reasoning being that since they would likely need a lot more power if they wanted to utterly destroy that barrier or at least make a hole in it that would last long enough to initiate a proper retrieval mission, having more Candidates on their side would highly improve their chances.

For a moment, IF looked like she had been torn on what to do, whether to answer him or just deflect the question to be more specific. However, she decided in the end to add here to the interest of cooperation and answered honestly. There wasn't a need for her to antagonize him, and to be frank IF had worked with people way worse than Vali in her lifetime."….. Yes I do, but… let's just say it's a little bit complicated, you see they are twins." she told him.

Hearing this, Vali arched a brow in surprise and confusion, not having expected that kind of information. ".... twins, does that mean there are TWO CPU candidates for Lowee?" he questioned, befuddled and in disbelief.

Despite this reaction, IF nodded solemnly. "Yes, that's why it's complicated. Their names are Rom and Ram, the twin CPUs of Lowee… and from what I've heard, they're kids but they have been around for hundreds of years." she explained.

His lips curved into a thoughtful frown whilst Vali pondered this information. "Huh...… now I'm starting to see the reason why the information pertaining to the CPU Candidates was hidden." In his experiences with adventuring through nature, it was something that he noticed quite often: how animals would often target the younger and smaller members of other species as prey since they were easier to catch than their older counterparts. To him, that also represented how the strong preyed on the weak instead of those on their level, it was just easier and they could hardly fight back against them. If these Candidates were just children and acted as such even though they are, in actuality, far older than that then he could see why the CPUs would keep their existence a secret. People who resented them would try to target the Candidates, and likely would target the younger/weaker ones first.

A despicable practice, if one asked him.

"Indeed..." IF remarked, having looked into his eyes and pretty much sussed out his entire thought process. It made her think to herself on how, even though he was a bit of a jerk to people in general, not just girls, there was a level of intelligence to him which he often hid, so nobody would expect it and thus underestimate his capabilities. It actually made her wonder just how well he could have done as a leader or politician if he had this kind of ability. "You know Vali, you could become a king rank with all of these achievements that you've done." she commented, deciding to try and see where he stood on that front.

Though, to her surprise Vali shrugged his shoulders and pocketed his hands inside his jacket, a scoff escaping his lips. "I'm not interested in a rank up or a title, I'd rather not even be a part of those damn nobles at all, if I had my way." he told her, and IF could detect a VERY much unhindered level of scorn for the nobility in his words. It actually reminded her of a python's venom, the toxic poison those words came equipped with.

Even so, the confusion she had still remained since many people wanted to have luxurious, well off lives in the world. She couldn't count them all herself, but IF had seen many adventurers want to become nobles just so they could escape their dangerous lifestyle. "Why not Vali? It's everyone's dream to be a part of one."

"Simple politics and stuff would hold me back from what I truly want." he answered simply.

"...What is it that you truly want?"

"...Fighting for eternity, maybe have a family and be free without anything holding me back."

"I see.... So your type of person who wants to be free to do whatever it is that you want?"

"Yes. If there comes a time where I have another rank up, I'll give it to someone else or give them credit for it."

Once again, the brunette got stunned by those words, and this time even Compa seemed surprised. "You don't care about fame?"

"Fame is only a means to an end. I love to fight strong opponents whether they are famous or not. If they want to take my title that's fine I don't care for them. As long as I get to fight and be free, that's all that I need."

"..... you are an interesting person Vali."

"That's what a lot of people say to me, woman."

"True….. You know I'm curious about you abilities, it's not like I've ever seen before."

"..... since we're on the same team, I'll tell you. When I was young, I was.... Born with this specific type of mana that was so destructive that I had to force myself to learn how to control it, lest my family's resources get destroyed every time I tried to use it. Eventually, I found a Tome when I was adventuring the Forest which gave me a detailed training method in controlling Mana, whilst also explaining concepts about it to me like a university professor. Made understanding it a bit difficult at times but it wasn't something a bit of research couldn't fix and the results…. I created my Mana Series, a set of techniques specifically geared towards my unique Mana." Vali explained, not wanting them to know too much about him, but saying just enough to sate IF and Compa's curiosity. Plus it wasn't like they'd believe that he was a Hybrid of human and Devil unless he showed them his Devil wings, or that his Divine Dividing wasn't a Lost Item unless Albion told them himself. Knowledge was power, and he preferred to keep a lid on the majority of his.

"Interesting...."

Whilst IF pondered on this information, Compa then raised a hand as if she were a student in a classroom. "We-well can I ask you something Vi-vi?" She questioned.

".... don't call me that, it's Vali and what is it that you want?"

"I-It's about all the killing and stuff... can you stop doing it?"

When he heard that, Vali stopped on his walk mid stride, then turned his attention to Compa once more, with narrowed eyes. "What makes you think I should stop, woman? Those groups that took Eden, they killed goddess knows how many people there and ruined everyone's lives."

"I-I know that, but at least they should be in jail, they deserve a second chance!"

"Deserve a second chance? You saw what they did to the Candidate there, right? If we hadn't been there on time, who knows what would have happened if they succeeded!"

"Not everyone deserves to be killed Vali! Why can't you think of that!"

"Hmmmmm I don't know. Maybe they love to make other people suffer, ruin their lives, forcing other people for labors, torturing others for their own pleasure AND RAPING OTHERS FOR THEIR OWN AMUSEMENT WHAT IN NAME OF CPU MAKES YOU THINK THAT THEY DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE!"

"Your lying Vali, no one could do that!"

"Don't believe me? Well then, Luxon? Show her the files of Idol Rabier!"

"Acknowledged, showing files of Idol Rabier."

A screen appeared in front of her, looking like static at first. That is until the screen came to life and started showing images. As she watched the screen, Compa's eyes shrunk to the size of dots, her expression one of deep mortification. Eventually, she couldn't deal with it anymore, and as such Compa placed her hands on her face and fled to a random direction.

Seeing this, IF gave a small sigh, shaking her head whilst pinching the center of her forehead with her left hand. She looked in the direction Compa had ran in in worry, before shifting her head to face Vali. "(SIGH) you are too rough with her Vali."

Unlike her, however, the silver-haired Hybrid shrugged his shoulders, his eyes cold and intense whilst the screen vanished. "She needs to know the truth about reality, she either accepts it….. Or get killed sooner."

"True but... (SIGH) it's nothing I'll go counsel her Vali, she does need to face reality if she wants to help Nep." IF told him, then proceeded to leave Vali alone as he went to another direction where his training facility was. His goal: relieving his stress from all that naive stuff that Compa had said.

Maybe he could perhaps spar with Alexia for a bit.

Timeskip 3 days

"We have arrived at Lowee, master."

"Finally we're here."

After Alpha remarked this, Vali and the others got out of the ship and saw the vast snowy landscape that was Lowee: the land of White Serenity. The land itself was covered by vast snowy plains, surrounded by snowy mountains which separated it from the other two Nations it were connected to: Lastation and Planeptune. As such, the land gave a serene vibe, hence its nickname: The Land of White Serenity.

"Wooooooooowwwwwwww...!" Olivia gushed as she swooned over the sight she had seen placed before her, her eyes twinkling with awe and wonder. "This place is beautiful!" she proclaimed, and for her it truly was. After all, this was the first time she had left Leanbox, most of the adventures she'd gone on with Vali and the others being within the Land of Green Pastures. As such, before she had only seen images of various environments in the other Nations, so seeing them for herself like this… she found it to be a unique opportunity.

Alpha nodded her head in agreement, smiling to herself as she enjoyed the bright smile on her friend's face. Her fellow harem sister really got excited over the simplest of things, but in this case she could understand it. "Indeed it is Olivia, this place is also called The Land of White Serenity. It's always snowing here in Lowee." she explained.

"Brrrrrhhhh Delta doesn't like the cold! Delta needs to get some warm coats soon!"

Aside from Delta whining about the cold that, as a beastman, she didn't have too high an affinity for, Angelica's noble-bred mind began to wonder about some more… management-based matters. "Always snowing..... How the hell did these people even get any food here, besides adventuring? Wouldn't they have problems farming crops and stuff?"

Alexia looked behind her at the other Noblewoman, having the answer to her question. "Each continent has different types of plants that can grow from there, some would say that they would go fishing, or go hunting." She explained, a small smile on her lips that soon spread into a grin. "But trust me, this place has the most delicious food you'll ever taste! Mmmhhhh!" She remembered a few times in her childhood when her sister and herself would come to Lowee on vacation and have various treats here. It had been one of the few good memories she had aside from training her swordplay.

"Uh huh we have no time for-"

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

"...... alright who hasn't eaten? Raise their hand." Compa, Angelica, Delta, and IF raised their hand while blushing in embarrassment, to which Vali could only sigh.

"(SIGH) fine, let's find a restaurant to eat."

"And warm coats as well!"

"... And some coats for those who aren't used to the cold."

Later

"Alright here are your meals!"

A waiter put down multiple dishes in front of Valis group before opening it which made almost everyone drool.

After they had found a restaurant within the city, Vali had gone ahead and booked them a table so they could all eat together. One good thing about Lowee restaurants was that, in the interest of family fun, they would be able to hold entire parties worth or people within one table. Made for a great means to have group meetings over drinks and good food.

"Here we have the fish platter for the beastkin."

"Delta…..must…..eat!"

Delta, at the moment that she saw the food being put out before her, had stars for eyes as she eagerly began digging in like a rabid animal. Good thing that nobody here looked to be too uncomfortable or offended, or perhaps they were just too engrossed within their own meals to notice.

"A chicken platter for both Olivia, Angelica and Compa."

The next one came for the three aforementioned girls, and when they saw the massive portions here, their eyes almost flew out of their sockets as their mouths began to water at the delicious smells flowing through their nostrils.

"This looks delicious!"

"I dare say so."

"It smells so good!"

"We have the Meat platter for IF and Alexia."

A low chuckle escaped the brunette, one that got accompanied by her silver-haired female friend. "I gotta say, it's been a while since I had a meal like this." IF commented, remembering how she sometimes participated in feasts larger than anything like this before a big job. According to the motto of the Guild at the time: big meals were meant to be the best ones a Hunter would have before their possible final days in Gamindustri.

"Indeed so, IF."

"And finally we have the chief choice platter for Vali. Be careful, it's hot!"

A sharp but curt nod got launched at the waiter by the slightly impressed Sacred Gear wielder, a smirk in his lips as he stared at the meal whilst in his mind, Albion sounded like he was regretting being in a Sacred Gear. "There is nothing I can handle, but I gotta say looks delicious."

"I'm glad you like it, enjoy your meals!"

Everyone began digging into their food, chatting merrily while Vali was just about to take a bite from the hot soup meat when he heard a call.

RING-RING

"Huh? Now what."

Internally groaning in annoyance at the interruption, Vali put down the meat he had been eating before he picked up a guild phone that he had received when he had become a part of the Crimson Knights.

CLICK!

"Who is it?"

"Hello, Vali."

Vali's eyes widened before going back to neutral but with a smirk on his face. "Well, if it isn't old man Zangetsu." he remarked, a chuckle escaping him as he leaned back on his seat. If one were to ask him, only a few people would be able to invoke a pleasant reaction out of him through a call, and his mentor would be one of them.

A sound similar to a grunt escaped the other line, but Vali could sense a small smirk on the old man's lips. "Good to hear from you Vali. Have you been treating my niece very well?"

Glancing over to Angelica who was eating with Olivia and Compa, smiling like an ordinary girl, Vali aimed a soft and tender smile for once, a rarity for him, before he responded. "I am, we are just in a restaurant in Lowee."

"Ahhhh Lowee, it's been a while since I've been there. But, let's get to the topic of why I called: We have managed to rescue the Oracle Chika from another kidnapping by the Cult of Diabolos, but during this Reinhard had sensed something in the cave where they took the Oracle but can't find it. Thought you might want to hear this information."

Hearing this made Vali want to groan into his hand, but that might sour the pleasant atmosphere the girls had generated so he refrained. Looked like those two groups had been at it again, trying to get a foothold in Leanbox to spread their influence further. He knew that this was due to Leanbox apparently having no CPU Candidate, something which IF had told him during the journey here, but still it led to no small number of annoyances. "... I see I'll go there as soon as possible but right now I have to deal with the mission I'm on right now."

"You managed to rescue a candidate?"

For a moment, Vali paused, his eyes wide with surprise at how astute Zangetsu had just been at that moment. Plus, his heart almost skipped a beat at the mention of the word 'candidate' though the fact that the man had said it at all, implied something to the boy. Something he inquired into seconds later. "..... how did you know that old man?"

"Don't worry I am one of the few people who knows the secret Vali, but what happened that caused you to go to Lowee?"

"... in simple words, they messed up the Share Energy in her. Did so by infecting herewith foreign cells and Blood, thus I need an expert who knows about Share Energy so that they can fix her. Out of every person I know who can do this, the Oracle of Lowee seems to be the one with the most experience, so we're going to her currently.... And also find the CPU candidates so that we can finally destroy that damn barrier." Vali explained, though he didn't go into further details since that would take too much time, so he simply summarized everything that had happened before.

"..... I understand Vali, though be careful because from what I heard the ASIC is trying to find something that can disrupt the CPUs further, weakening them to the point that they'd resemble catatonic patients on life support. I don't know what it is, but you will have to move fast."

THAT did not sound good, not at all. Vali's lips curled into a frown when he heard this information as he sternly responded. "..... Alright I will be an old man."

"Good. Be safe, Vali."

"You too, old man."

BEEP!

With that said Vali hung up the phone, pocketing it in his jacket before going for the meal that also made Aurora curse herself for not having a body.

Later

"Alright, so this is the Bascilion of Lowee huh?" Vali questioned as the group now stood before the tallest building within the entire city. One part of him had to question the hubris the CPUs had since, well if the Basilicom was the biggest place in the city it would be SUPER easy to find. Not to mention if one launched a blast of artillery at the city that building would be the most likely one to get hit. There were other problems too he could point out, but he didn't want to sound like an old man lecturing the younger generation here… even though in terms of age he may be one of the youngest here.

"Indeed." IF replied simply, hands pocketed inside her coat.

Right after they had finished their meals and shopping for snow coats, sometimes being stopped by some snobby noble boys who were enchanted by the girls' looks and asked or demanded to be with them, only for the girls to pull a Vali and say a blunt 'No' then got a bit too greedy before Vali just punched them or scared them with his aura, they had finally arrived at their destination. Compa hadn't liked how Vali had handled those people, but Alexia had then told her that they wouldn't have left them alone unless someone had done something.

Not to mention the fact that Vali had also been approached by the noble girls intending on making him their lover/servant, which had made Vali almost lose it before Delta had done the same thing that Vali would do to the noble boys.

Thus, by the time they had finally found the building itself, the party couldn't help but be in relief that they managed to find the Basilicon of Lowee. A building shaped like a golden castle of sorts like in those children's storybooks.

Vali huffed as he crossed his arms under his chest. "Let's find the Oracle and get her to fix the candidate."

IF nodded at this. "Agreed." she declared as the group made to walk towards the building's entrance...

"Stop right there!"

"Grrrrrhhhh now wha-"

Unfortunately, some MORE surprises hindered their progress in the form of two unified voices yelling at them from the rear. In frustrated anger, a growl left his throat as Vali looked left and right to see where the voices came from before they spoke again.

"Down here, meanie."

Vali looked down and saw two girls, one had long brown hair that went down her back, reaching her waist. She had dark blue eyes, wearing a pastel pink winter coat over a plain gray and white overall dress. Her coat had puffed sleeves and a frilled white center part with many golden buttons, with a big light blue bow on the collar and six puffballs strategically placed. At the ends of the cuff were white fur lining and a big golden button. She also wore a cap on top of her head, with her feet covered by boots with a similar color scheme to her coat. She also wore a hot pink shoulder purse.

Beside her was the other girl, though she had some differences compared to the first. She had a light blue purse on her right shoulder with shoulder-length brown hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a winter jacket over a plain gray and white overall dress, her jacket being pastel blue. The jacket itself had puffed sleeves and a frilled center part with many golden buttons, a collar with a big bow and six puffballs strategically placed. At the ends of the cuff was white fur lining and a big golden button. She wore a similar-looking cap to the other girl's, and had boots resembling her jacket.

"Ahhhhh, twins!" Olivia exclaimed whilst looking like she was ready to swoon over how cute they looked.

On the other hand, Vali had the exact OPPOSITE reaction to their presence as he aimed an annoyed glare down at them. "... what do you want. Brats?" he questioned roughly.

The pink one didn't seem so dunted by his coldness though unlike the blue one who cowered behind her apparent twin. The pink one nonetheless raised her arm and pointed it at him. "You can���t enter there, it's not allowed!"

Hearing this, Vali scoffed whilst rolling his eyes. "We have important business there, so do us a favor and go home with your parents."

"You! Do you know who you're speaking with!?"

"Ram calm down, please excuse my sister but we've been told that no one is allowed to enter there except our sister-hmph?!" her eyes widened at the end as she hurriedly covered her mouth to stop herself.

Unfortunately, Vali caught on when the girl said sister, which told him...

"Sister?.... Then that means you two are the CPU candidates." he remarked as he narrowed his eyes at the two whilst internally thinking. 'This is going to become a big mess, I just know it…'

"Oh no Ram, they know the secret! What should we do?!"

"Calm down you two, we're not going to do anything to you. We just need your help to get the other CPU candidates."

"Liar! You just want to steal our Shares and kidnap us like you did our Sister! Rom transform!"

"Y-yes sister!"

"Oi listen to us-Gaahh!"

Before Vali could speak he and the group were blinded by the light before it died down, and when it did, they saw the two girls having been transformed. For the one that had been called Ram, the pink one, her hairstyle changed to be shorter with messier bangs and side parts with a very long strand/part of hair over her shoulders. Her eyes turned bright pink too, with a white power button symbol in her eyes like the other CPUs. She also gained a white suit-like outfit resembling a bathing suit with pink on the outer parts and neck, and long gloves with a thick pink line going down the center and at the top. The boot-like parts were connected to the bodysuit by the outer bands with big pink pieces while the boot itself is all white except for the foot parts.

As for the one called Rom, her hairstyle changed to be blue in colour and shorter with messier/more bangs and side parts with a very long strand/part of hair over her shoulder. Her eyes turn bright blue. She also gained a white suit-like outfit resembling a bathing suit with pink on the outer parts and neck, and long gloves with a thick pink line going down the center and at the top. The boot-like parts were connected to the bodysuit by the outer bands with big pink pieces while the boot itself was all white except for the foot parts. Also like her apparent sister, she wielded a staff for a weapon which had a blue jewel in it's shaft unlike the other one who had a pink jewel in hers.

"We will stop you in the name of CPUs!"

"... (SIGH) leave this to me girls, these two children need to be disciplined." Vali stated while sighing and cracking his knuckles. Though, whilst he would likely not enjoy this compared to a good fight, he did admit that he'd feel satisfaction in the thought of venting his frustrations the kids brought out from him.

Knowing that nothing would be stopping either party, Alpha groaned into a hand that she'd placed over her face. "Alright but please go easy on them. They're just kids."

"... who are hundreds of years old."

"Hey it's rude to state a lady's age!"

"...I'll make this quick."

Vali scowled as he summoned Divine Dividing onto his back, just as the two girls discharged a blast of two elements: wind and ice. The two blasts came from different angles as the girls strafed into opposing sides, something which Vali didn't see the need for as he took to the skies, avoiding the attacks.

This also allowed him to activate his Mana Zone, which got followed by Vali gathering the (surprisingly) copious amounts of Mana in the air into a shower of MB's that he launched down at the two CPU Candidates.

After this, Rom quickly raised her Staff, summoning a giant barrier which blocked all of the MBs that would have hit them and their surroundings otherwise. After Rom dismissed the barrier afterwards, Ram quickly aimed her Staff at Vali and launched a couple of Fireballs at him, intending to try and roast him alive.

However, she neglected to realize one thing: the overwhelming difference in experience between her and Vali. The proof of which came when Vali all but vanished in a blur of speed, easily avoiding them and appearing before her to catch the girl off guard.

GRAB!

"Ouch!"

Reaching forth faster than she could react, Vali grabbed onto Ram's head, gripping onto the girl's skull hard enough to stop her from attacking in favor of grabbing onto his hand with her smaller ones to try and remove it, to no avail. Seconds later, he smashed her head right into the ground with enough force to cause a small crater, causing Ram to gasp in both shock and pain.

"Alright brat, time for a wakeup call." Vali stated, before he then proceeded to take to flying towards Rom as well with Ram being carried by her head. Rom gasped, her eyes wide as she quickly tried to figure out what to do. The thing was, as Vali had noticed, it looked like these kids hardly had ANY combat experience even though they seemed to know some magical abilities, therefore…

GRAB!

"Ouchies!"

Before she could figure something out, Vali grabbed onto Rom's head as well, quickly clutching hard enough to make her drop her Staff like Ram had done before. Lifting her up into the air… Vali proceeded to smack them both together like a pair of bowling pins. He did so multiple times, flipped them into the air before grabbing them by their legs and smacking them into the ground. Their two loud cries filled the air, their transformations coming undone as Vali held them upside down by one of their legs each, his tone stern and blunt like a hammer. "Alright you two, that's enough."

"Th-that hurt meanie!"

Hearing Ram's protest, Vali increased the strength of his grip on their legs, tightening it. "There's more where that comes from, if you two don't start behaving." he told them threateningly, no it felt more like a PROMISE of what would come… and one knows how Vali kept to his word.

"We-we will not give up until we stop you!"

"... (SIGH) I don't have time for this."

Vali took them by their waist as he walked to his group.

"H-Hey, what are you doing?! Let go of us!"

"Pl-please let us go."

"Not until you two start behaving and act like good little girls." The silver haired Hybrid retorted as he finally approached the others… various levels of exasperation being seen throughout their ranks. Olivia and Compa looked quite scandalized though, with the former slightly less than the latter.

He soon got his attention brought back to the Twins he carried right now.

"Y-you! Wait until we get out of this and we'll make you pay!"

Hearing those words from Ram, Compa stepped forward to try and play peacemaker in this conversation. "We didn't mean any harm to you two, we just need your help." she tried to say in an effort to convince them.

Didn't work though. "We will never help you-ugk!"

Before Ram could finish refusing them, Vali then tightened his grip on Ram's waist as he grew seriously annoyed. "Enough little brat, why can't you act like her?" he questioned, gesturing to her sister with a tilt of his head.

"Alright that's enough trouble you two are causing."

All of the people tensed up when they heard an unfamiliar yet womanly voice that came from the entrance to the building. Looking towards the Basilicom, Vali and the others saw a tall woman with long sky blue hair worn in low pigtails along with a red graduation hat. Her eyes are cerulean in color and are accompanied by a pair of red glasses. She wears a short white dress under a red, long jacket like a robe worn open with gold lining and buttons. The sleeves puff below her elbow and have long cuffs, while at her neck is a collar and red bow with a golden badge. Her legwear consists of red heels that match her robe and hat.

Apparently the woman seemed to have some history with the two children though, as upon seeing her Ram's eyes promptly lit up like stars in the night sky. "Mina, you're here! Come save us from this bad man!" She pleaded, hoping to get some reinforcements.

Shame that her hopes got dashed when the woman shook her head with a disappointed sigh escaping her lips. "No I will not Ram." she told her, much to the girl's shock.

"Why?!" Ram cried out, looking like someone who had just gotten betrayed by their best friend..

Though, she soon cowered before the glare that the woman named Mina gave her in response, as she proceeded to lecture the young girl. Even whilst she remained held by the one who had soundly beaten her. "Because these are the guests who were coming. Guests who I've told you two about, but it appears that you two weren't listening….. I'm sorry for the troubles they have given you."

In his mind, Vali got the impression she did that a lot around here judging by how smoothly she handled them. Still, the way she timely appeared like this combined with how the twins had reacted upon seeing her, along with the process of elimination of who they would most likely take orders from, Vali formed a suspicion in his mind. "..... Are you the Oracle of Lowee?" he questioned, wondering if his theory was correct.

Turned out seconds later, that it was when she answered with a small, polite nod. "Yes, my name is Mina Nishizawa and you know why I'm here?" she questioned him after introducing herself, although to Vali it sounded more like a statement than anything else.

At least he was conversing with an adult now, Vali never did have much patience when it came to children. "Yes, I do. You'll have to come with us, for you must already have known what has happened." he told her.

Mina nodded her head, agreeing with both Vali's words and the opinion he'd formed about the situation. "Yes yes I do lead the way please."

"Good."

At this point, the two children had started to struggle for freedom in Vali's grip, bringing his attention back to them as the seriousness of the situation had made him forget about the 'baggage' that he was carrying. Well, he could hardly call it baggage since they didn't even weigh that much, to the point where he could hardly feel them. "Hey can you let go of us at least!" Ram yelled out

"... alright." Vali eventually replied, rolling his eyes. He then kneeled on one leg to let go of Rom who then stood on her own two feet, before he got up once again while still holding Ram.

Something which she noticed and did NOT appreciate. "Hey, you let her go but not me!" she shouted, but it sounded more like a child's whining at this point.

Vali rolled his eyes again and spoke in a low, cold tone similar to that of a general disciplining his troublesome subordinates. "Consider this your punishment for being rude girl."

Once again, Ram looked towards Mina, pleading for her help regarding this situation."Come on, Mina please?" she requested, a tinge of desperation in her voice.

However, to her dismay, Mina once again shook her head. "No, you either take-up the punishment, or else I will delete all of your save files in every one of your games." she said with a sweet smile… but the shadows over her eyes and the multiple vein marks bulging across her forehead showed what she REALLY felt inside.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Enough, we are wasting time, come on."

"I understand, lets go."

Later

"So, in order to fix the Share Energy inside of young Nepgear, you must make sure the cells did not disrupt it before it could be tainted."

"I have made sure that my creator was stabilized and they only did little damage to it."

"Thank the CPUs for that now…."

While Mina was operating on Nepgear with Luxon, outside of the medical facility Compa, IF and the others were sitting down on the chair while Rom and Ram (Who Vali had let go of after seeing the state of Nepgear) had begun asking questions like the curious children they appeared to be.

"Will... will she be okay?"

"... she will, she has all the support she has. I'm sure of it." Compa replied with a calm smile, trying to reassure the kids although they looked like they weren��t falling for it.

"... what caused her to be….. Like this?"

This time, after Rom had asked that question it was IF who gave her the answer. ".... Various nasty people did something to her, back when she had been held captive in the Graveyard. As a result, she was reduced to what you see before you"

"So these... bad people did this... to her?"

"Yes that's why we need your help and the others as well."

"... I understand, if these bad people did this to her.... I'll make them pay."

"I'm sure you will. But for now, let us wait until they're done with the operation."

"Okay."

Whilst the children talked with the girls, Vali silently leaned against one of the walls of his ship whilst also thinking about something. 'Alright two candidates down, one more to go. The next one should be in Lastation…' the boy thought to himself, already intending to go there to collect the last Candidate.

'{Indeed... Wait if there's CPU candidates of each continent, then how come there isn't one in Leanbox?}'

Upon hearing Albion's opinion, Vali arched a brow as he realized the logic behind it. 'Thats.... Actually a good question. Maybe she wasn't created or something I guess? I find it hard to believe that Green Heart doesn't have a sister.'

'{Hmmmmm... maybe Green heart didn't want anyone know that either she was dangerous or she disgraced her that caused Green heart to either kill her or remove her from history, that's my guess.}'

'Maybe so….. We'll cross that bridge when we reach-'

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

"AAAHHHHH!"

"Huh?!"

Vali was surprised by the loud beeping noises and the scream coming from the medical room that caused everyone to be in worry.

"What's happening in there?!"

"I don't know anything wrong with Ge-Ge!"

"I NEED HELP NOW!"

Vali, Angelica, Alexia, Alpha and Delta entered the room as they saw Nepgear thrashing around on the bed, Mina trying to hold her down whilst Luxon kept trying to put a shot into her, but couldn't

"A-ALL OF YOU, HOLD HER DOWN!"

Angelica and Alexia held Negpears arms to the bed whilst Alexia and Delta quickly began holding down her legs.

Vali then turned to Mina "What's happening to her?" he exclaimed with urgency.

Urgency mirrored by the Lowee Oracle. "I don't know, there was something wrong with the treatment that caused the cells to spread almost all over her body, soon enough if we don't find a solution, it will reach her core!"

"Grrrrrrhhhhh dammit Luxon restrain her!"

"My creator is strong enough to break the restraints I put on her. Right now, I am trying to inject Propofol in her."

"FUCK!"

Vali punched the wall behind him, making the metal dent to the size of his fist as he was close to his goal, but if there is one less candidate.... He doesn't know what will happen. Fate really loved to mess with him, didn't it? Just as he felt like going onto a rant, Aurora then spoke through their link to him, for the first time in a while, to0.

'Vali... I have a solution for you.'

'... how can you possibly even think of one? You're not an expert in taking out cells!"

'I know that, but from the memories that I have seen in you destroy the curse from those girls.'

'What does that have to...… no.'

'Yes, if you want to save her, inject your demonic power to override the cells in her.'

'No, I will NOT do that! It's too risky, because of her Share Energy! I may have managed to destroy the curse when it affected the others because they were human beings, but on a goddess? It's more likely that it will ruin her!'

'What choice do you have Vali? You have to either save her or lose a Candidate.'

"..... FUUUCCKKK! FINE, OUT MY WAY!" Eventually, the emotions inside Vali exploded, causing him to let out that loud curse which may as well have shaken the entire ship. Furthermore, everyone almost leapt out of their seats when the boy stormed over and went inside the medical room where the thrashing Nepgear was located.

Meanwhile, Mina who frantically tried to settle the unconscious girl down looked over to him, noticing that his right hand had begun pulsing with… Mana, although something about it didn't resemble normal Mana. She had no idea what it was, but regardless she couldn't think straight with the intensity of the situation. "WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING VALI?!" She cried out as he stood over the thrashing Nepgear.

Raising his right hand as the Mana condensed even further, Vali simply spoke three words. "Saving her life!"

"What do you mean?!"

Without answering her question, Vali slammed his hand onto her chest, prompting his Mana to enter the girl's body. She quickly began glowing in purple aura in response which gathered around his hand, his entire arm soon glowing silver which then spread across his body too. Vali Began sweating a lot whilst the two auras repeatedly clashed against one another in a battle for dominance, one much more intense than the times when he'd helped the half-devils in his Harem, but still he remained standing. The purple aura tried to surround him and take over his being like it had with Nepgear's body, however his demonic power proved itself far superior compared to the purple aura, resulting in began to overwhelm the purple aura before it died down, leaving Nepgear as she stopped thrashing and calmed down.

His task done, Vali retracted his power back into himself and then fell down to the floor on one leg, lowering his head and breathing heavily to get some much-needed air back into his lungs.

"VALI!"

All of the girls in his harem cried out, including Alexia as they rushed to his side, helping the Hybrid up from his previous position on the ground.

"#Huff....#huff.....#huff…..#huff... well... is she…...better now….?"

Yet, despite his weakened state, Vali still held the strength to request an update on Nepgear's condition, since that was the sole reason why he had done what he had. To this end, Mina then checked Nepgear over as the other girls let go of her now that she had stopped thrashing. In a few moments, Mina became stunned at what the monitors were displaying in front of her. "You.... I don't know what you did with your mana, but it managed to save her! I can't see any signs of the Cells or blood invading her core anymore!" she exclaimed, much to everyone's surprise and relief.

Yet, compared to them, Vali himself found that HE felt the most relieved out of all of them. What he'd done had been a huge gamble after all, and by no means was it over since even if it seemed that Nepgear would pull through, there would still be some long-term consequences further down the line. He believed so with 100% of his being, though right now those concerns weren't his main priority at the moment as he began addressing the Lowee Oracle. "heh...… You might know..... Soon enough..... Now, can someone...… Please carry me to my room.....? I'm going..... to take a nap."

For a moment, Mina looked at him silently before she nodded, a small and pleasant smile which seemed MUCH unlike the polite one she'd sported in the beginning, spread across her face. "..... Alright, you earned it." she eventually replied, relenting to his desires. When she didn't hear a response to him, Mina looked to him again and found that the boy's eyes had already closed, his head hanging low in front of him. "Hmmmmm........ It would seem that he is already asleep."

Alpha nodded her head in understanding about this, not just Vali's condition but also about what he had just done. She and the others had seen it before, multiple times even, so it was easy to tell what had happened as well as the boy's likely worried about the future. However, those could be dealt with another time, for now she should focus on the current problems before them. "I see...… lets carry him back to his room, girls. Delta!" She yelled, selecting the Beastman of the group.

Said girl quickly saluted Alpha like a recruit to their drill sergeant. "Delta understands!" She shouted… although she then began to whisper under her breath so nobody would hear her. "(Whisper) hehehehehe, this is Delta's chance to finally be alone with him...!"

However, it seemed as though that was pointless given the stares the other girls gave her. "... on second thought, let me and Alexia do it." Alpha declared, much to Delta's shock.

"WHAT?! Why not?"

When Delta asked about the sudden change with a sense of despair in her voice, Alpha simply pointed to her… or rather, to the swishing limb behind her. "Because I can tell by that tail of yours that you were going to do something to him in his sleep."

"Gah! Come on Alpha, Delta won't do anything to him, Delta promises!"

"I still don't trust you."

"Pleeeaass-AHHH GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

In order to quell the situation so they could get the sleeping Vali back to his room, Alpha took the medical needle from Luxon's arm(Which she had requested for him to let go) and put it in front of Delta. As a result, the young beastman squeaked like a frightened mouse as she tried to get away from it.

"Then, let me and Alexia carry Vali while you try not to do anything to him."

"De-Delta's got it!"

"Good, now if you'll excuse us, let's take him to his room. After everything that has happened today, he deserves a good rest."

"Indeed Alpha."