Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 35: A Child Never Meant To Exist

The deeper we got into the tunnel of darkness, the more I wanted to doubt. I kept telling myself that maybe we were going the wrong way.

And it didn’t help that the place wasn’t messed up or anything. Even if the black tunnel was an illusion Spell placed as a precaution, someone like Tina would’ve tried to break it somehow to get to Mimir.

But no damage could be seen anywhere at all, everything was pitch black...just like I remembered the first time entering.

Yet, by the time I took my next step, light suddenly filled my vision, causing my eyes to constrict as they struggled to adjust.

Once my sight cleared, I was fully expecting the place to be in shambles. Fire everywhere, wires disconnected and hanging loose—the same thing you’d expect from a horror entity that was let loose in those horror movies.

However, everything was just the same as I remembered it to be. Mimir stood at the very center, the bridge towards it completely untouched.

Though, if I had to point out one thing that changed...

It was Colette’s body, limp against the base of Mimir.

"Colette!"

I yelled, sprinting toward her as quick as I could.

Placing two fingers against her wrist, I tried desperately to search for a pulse. The moment I felt one, my body automatically breathed out a sigh of relief.

She wasn’t dead.

"Ruby, could you take care of her," I nudged a chin toward Colette’s body. "Something’s wrong...keep your guard up."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, rushing to Colette’s side and casting [Heal] on her. "I feel the same way."

Pinkish Logos washed over the Astaron princess, causing a few of her bruises and small cuts to get better, but nowhere near enough to recover her exhaustion.

Pulling out Huginn, I tightened my fingers around the gun’s grip as my eyes scanned the entire place. Yet, even with [Material Sight], I couldn’t see anyone in the vicinity.

’Does that mean...she finished with what she needed here and already ran away? Damn it!’

But once I turned around to face the Mimir Database, it was clear that it was not the case. The Database was functioning completely fine.

And exactly as expected, the session ID was Colette’s, which meant that our hypothesis of Tina taking Colette to use her privilege as a secretary was spot on.

The problem was—

In the game, this place was supposed to have gone up in flames, as explained by Grant Nidavel later on in the story after hiding it for like three arcs.

So why is it not destroyed yet?

Yet even as I thought that, my eyes caught on the article still open on the screen. It had been left there like the perpetrator hadn’t had enough time to close it.

And against my better judgement...

I found myself reading it.

[MIMIR ARCHIVE — RESTRICTED RECORD]

ACCESS LEVEL: Asgardian Student Council

DOCUMENT TYPE: PDF

CASE ID: VANARIS-███-A/17

STATUS: [REDACTED]

AUTHORIZED BY: ███████████

[Subject: Vanaris Breach of the Ninefolds Succession Pact]

‣ Under the Ninefold Succession Pact, each of the Nine Houses is permitted no more than two living registered descendants with confirmed compatibility for their respective House Innate Spell Sequence, regardless of main branch, branch family, or illegitimate status.

‣ Non-compatible bloodline descendants are exempt from Pact counting. Current public precedent includes Nolan Midgard of House Midgard, who was classified as exempt following failure to manifest compatibility with [World Frame].

’How does this involve me...?’ I thought to myself, but kept reading nonetheless.

‣ In the case of the 17th Patriarch of House Vanaris, Cillian Vanaris knowingly breached this pact through the concealment of an unregistered Innate-compatible child.

‣ Thus as punishment that was decided on by the other 8 Houses of Ygg, Cillian Vanaris is sentenced to life-imprisonment in █████████ Prison, Valhalla. Following an appeal from Sara Vanaris, his current wife, public disclosure of the breach was denied. Official records were amended to state that Cillian Vanaris had been "struck by an unknown Gate-related illness."

‣ The mother of said child, as a lowborn prostitute, was promptly neutralized by ████ ████ of House Vanaris in order to stop information leakage.

‣ Medical examination of the child confirmed abnormal Logos responsiveness within the developing neural pathways. Preliminary assessment indicated positive compatibility with the Vanaris Innate Spell Sequence.

The first page of the document stopped there, and I knew that pressing the "Next" button would be a bad idea...

But a story was forming in my head, a story of why this all happened in the first place. And so with a mix of curiosity and dread washing over me, my finger moved on its own.

[Page 2]

‣ Following the same appeal by Sara Vanaris, as well as a majority agreement from Lords Helgarm, Muspel, Yhotun, Nidavel, and Midgard — the offspring’s scheduled termination was waived.

‣ As stated in the agreement, the offspring’s Logos Cortex would be inhibited following the procedure done by the █████████ Foundation and would then be transported to Astaron to live out their life as a civilian.

LAST MODIFIED: ████/██/██

MODIFIED BY: █████ ███████

‣ The offspring, after spending their infantile years within the Astaron Central Orphanage, have been adopted by House Valentine, a small noble house.

‣ Further inspection deemed not necessary, case will be closed.

Stepping back from the database, my hands trembled like nothing ever before. This changed the fabric of everything I had thought I knew about the plot.

"Nolan?" Ruby asked out of concern after looking at my face. "Is everything alright?"

Yet all I found myself doing...was muttering softly, trying to connect the pieces together one by one as they formed in my head.

"It was never about revolution. The higher cause—the tensions surrounding foreign Operators, Operator power, and ordinary civilians—it had all been a means to an end."

"No..." I mumbled to myself like a madman. "It had always been about a personal motive. A girl who suspected foul play and was determined to find out herself...even if she had to join a terrorist organization to prove it."

"And that girl was—"

Click—!

A girl’s voice came from behind me, along with the sensation of cold metal being pressed against the back of my head.

"Congratulations...you figured it out. Now...it’s time I fulfilled my end of the bargain."

[Spell Sequence Initialized: Innate Neural Interference Type—]

[Hostile Takeover]

At the same time, a blue panel appeared in front of my face.

[Character Recognition Accomplished]

[Displaying Character Data]

[Role: White Noise — The Seer]

‣ Control: B

‣ Processing: C

‣ Output: B

‣ Projection: C

‣ Storage: B

[Spell Drive Data:]

‣ [Hostile Takeover] — Innate Neural interference Type

‣ [Ice Rain] — Tier 1 Offensive Condensation Type

‣ [Glacial Lance] — Tier 2 Frozen Projectile Type

‣ [Flashfreeze] — Tier 2 Vapor Manipulation Type

[Name: Tina Vanaris]

"So I was right..."